MMSB announces Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program for 2006

The Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) today announced details of its Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program for 2006. The program is designed to raise awareness of household hazardous waste issues and provide residents of the province with a safe and convenient way to dispose of their household hazardous waste products.

This year, the program will provide 23 collection events in 16 areas of the province: Mount Pearl, Corner Brook, Conception Bay South, Carbonear, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, Paradise, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Portugal Cove-St. Phillips, Torbay, Conception Bay Centre, Clarenville, Channel�Port aux Basques, Marystown, Placentia and NorPen Waste Management Authority on the Northern Peninsula. The City of St. John's and Labrador City/Wabush will hold their own HHW collection events in 2006. In addition, the Green Bay Waste Management Authority operates a permanent HHW collection depot for the region in which it operates.

"The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program is one of the many recycling programs administered by MMSB that will help the province achieve its 50 per cent waste diversion goal as set out in the provincial waste management strategy," said Minister Jackman. The minister also emphasized the importance of the program as a valuable environmental initiative in the province. "It takes only a few drops of household hazardous waste going into the ground, our landfills or the environment generally to contaminate our food supply, our drinking water, our fish and wildlife habitat and our atmosphere. Although the volume of household hazardous waste generated is relatively small, it represents a serious environmental risk if not managed properly," said the minister.

"As we continue to provide this important recycling service and work toward developing permanent HHW collection systems throughout the province, we are pleased to offer the program this year to more communities than in prior years," said John Scott, MMSB Chair and CEO. "Through MMSB�s partnerships with regional waste management committees and municipalities, we intend to build on this momentum and extend the program even further in future years."

The HHW program funds community collection events once or twice a year in those areas of the province where meaningful volumes of HHW waste (ranging from pesticides to leaded paint) can be diverted and recycled in a cost-effective manner. MMSB has administered the HHW program since 1998, diverting approximately 440,000 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 residents and households at no charge. Specific dates and locations for this year�s HHW collection events will be advertised locally as they are finalized. A complete schedule will also be posted on MMSB�s Web site at www.mmsb.nl.ca.

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.nl.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.

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2006 05 16                        11:55 a.m.