OLDS — As spring cleaning time gets closer, Town of Olds Mayor Judy Dahl wants residents to know not to dispose of hazardous materials in their waste bins or elsewhere in town.
She and other town officials say the only approved place to dispose of those materials is in the Mountain View Regional Waste Management Commission's landfill site near Didsbury.
Dahl broached that issue during a town council policies and priorities meeting last month.
Dahl said a resident recently approached her saying he was worried because he’d seen some of his neighbours disposing of hazardous waste in their garbage bins.
Extra household paint was cited as one example of the waste being thrown out.
Olds Fire Department Chief Justin Andrew said people seem to think they can dispose of such materials at the fire hall so occasionally firefighters will find one or two hazardous items dropped off at their front door. But that too, is not allowed.
"There is currently no drop-off location for household waste in town,” Andrew said, confirming that all such material must be dropped off at the landfill near Didsbury.
Dahl said in that case, residents should be educated about that via the newspaper.
“Kudos to the recycling waystation. They’ve got an excellent spot to drop off there. The problem is people driving and being able to take it there,” she said.
A couple of years ago the Town of Olds participated in a pilot project to dispose of electronic and hazardous waste, he said.
In July 2020 the town participated in an Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) curbside recycling pilot project.
Residents were encouraged to bring their used tires, oil, electronics and paints next to their bins where they would be taken away for free and dealt with by a processing firm.
The goal of the program was to find ways to deal with waste collection and disposal in the COVID era.
Olds was the first community to sign up for it and the project was so successful that it was extended from three days to four. ARMA staff were in town for a total of five days.
