The following is being distributed at the request of the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB):

MMSB announces Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program for 2005

The Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) today announced details of its Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program for 2005. The HHW program provides residents with a safe and convenient way to dispose of their household hazardous waste products.

This year, the program will provide 16 collection events in 10 communities: Mount Pearl, Corner Brook, Conception Bay South, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, Paradise, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Portugal Cove-St. Philip�s, Torbay, and Conception Bay Centre. The City of St. John�s will hold its own HHW collection events in 2005. In addition, the Green Bay Waste Management Authority operates a permanent HHW collection depot for that region.

Environment and Conservation Minister Tom Osborne said he is pleased that MMSB is continuing with the HHW program in 2005 and looks forward to continued positive results. The minister emphasized the importance of the program as a valuable waste diversion program in the province. "The HHW program plays an important role in removing environmentally hazardous waste products from our landfills by providing residents with a convenient way to dispose of these products," said Minister Osborne. "A pro-active approach to the recycling of waste products such as the HHW initiative will also help the province achieve its 50 per cent waste diversion goal as set out in the provincial waste management strategy."

MMSB Chair and CEO John Scott said, "MMSB is pleased with the success of the HHW program and is committed to continuing this important service as we work toward developing permanent HHW collection systems throughout the province in cooperation with regional waste management committees and municipalities. MMSB also intends to look at ways of extending the geographic reach of the current program in 2006 so that smaller communities may be able to participate in the future."

The HHW program funds community collection events once or twice a year in those areas of the province where meaningful volumes of waste can be diverted and recycled in a cost-effective manner. MMSB has administered the HHW program since 1998, diverting more than 350,000 litres of HHW from landfills in the province. MMSB and the participating municipalities cost-share all expenses associated with the collection events so that the service can be made available to households at no charge. The specific dates and locations for the HHW collection events to be held this year will be advertised locally as soon as they are finalized.

In addition to providing Newfoundland and Labrador residents with safe disposal options for HHW, MMSB has also produced public education guides to assist communities in developing their own programs and to provide residents with information about the safe usage and disposal of HHW. Both guides are available by contacting MMSB at 1-800-901-MMSB (6672) or on-line at www.mmsb.nf.ca.

MMSB is a provincial Crown agency that reports to the Minister of Environment and Conservation. Its mandate is to support progressive waste management practices in the province, with a particular focus on waste diversion, recycling and public education, in order to ensure a clean and healthy environment throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Media contact:
David Penney, MMSB, (709) 753-0993
Sonia Glover, Environment and Conservation, (709) 729-2575

2005 03 28                            11:45 a.m.