East Kootenay residents are encouraged to dig deep into their basements and garages in search of old cleaners, oils, pesticides and other toxic materials as the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) prepares to host three Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Round Ups the last weekend of May.

“We will be holding one round up in each of our three Subregions,” explained RDEK Environmental Services Manager, Kevin Paterson. “There will be no charge for drop off and this is the best way for residents to get rid of aerosols, flammable liquids, poisonous products, corrosives, oils, antifreeze, paints, pesticides, herbicides, solvents, nail polish remover, furniture polish, rat poison, pool acids and more.”

The HHW Round Ups will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as follows:

Elk Valley Subregion

Saturday, May 28
 – Sparwood Fire Hall (479 Pine Avenue, Sparwood);

Columbia Valley Subregion

Saturday, May 28 – 
Parking lot behind Radium Visitors Info Centre (7556 Main St E, Radium Hot Springs);

Central Subregion (Cranbrook/Kimberley & area)

Sunday, May 29 – 
Kimberley Civic Centre (525 Archibald Street, Kimberley).

The Round Ups are for household residential items only. No commercial or industrial products will be accepted and they will not accept explosives, ammunition, biomedical or radioactive waste.

“In addition to the Household Hazardous Waste products, we will also have representatives from the ElectroRecycle Program in attendance. They will be accepting small appliances, power tools and old exercise machines including everything from toasters and steamers to old drills and treadmills,” added Paterson.

A complete list of the products accepted in the Round Ups is available on the RDEK’s website at www.rdek.bc.ca.

“These are the only events that will be held this year, so we really want people to be aware that they are happening and encourage them to use this opportunity to get rid of those old, unwanted and hard-to-get-rid-of wastes,” stressed Paterson.

RDEK