Upcoming Household Hazardous Waste and Goods Exchange Days Offer Disposal Options

Owen Sound residents are reminded of two upcoming opportunities to reduce waste and promote reuse this May. Goods Exchange Day encourages residents to give away items they no longer need, while Household Hazardous Waste Day offers a safe way to dispose of hazardous materials not accepted in regular garbage collection.

This Saturday, May 17, is a designated Goods Exchange Day and the following Saturday, May 24, is Household Hazardous Waste Day at the Public Works Facility (1900 20th Street East) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On Goods Exchange Day, residents are encouraged to place unwanted but still usable items at the curb in front of their homes after 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 17. Anything that does not find a new home must be taken back inside by 6 p.m.

Goods Exchange Day diverts usable items and materials from landfill disposal. It is also a great opportunity to declutter spaces and find new homes for gently used items.

Back this year! Share your surplus non-invasive plants and flowers, such as hostas, peonies, and boxwood, to help fellow gardeners expand their gardens while reducing waste.

Looking for another way to get rid of your unwanted items? The following links provide information on locations where you can take materials for reuse, recycling, and proper disposal.

• Canadian Diabetes Association Clothesline
• Kidney Clothes Donation Program
• Habitat for Humanity ReStore
• Mission Thrift Store
• Value Village
• Salvation Army Thrift Store

Anything unacceptable for donation can go to the Miller Waste Transfer Station.

City residents are also invited to take part in Household Hazardous Waste Day on Saturday, May 24.

This very popular program is open to residents from the following participating partner municipalities:

• City of Owen Sound
• Township of Chatsworth
• Township of Georgian Bluffs
• Municipality of Grey Highlands
• Municipality of Meaford

To help keep the line moving as quickly as possible at Household Hazardous Waste events, residents are asked to bring valid ID indicating that their home address is in one of the participating municipalities (listed below), as well as a completed Household Hazardous Waste Form. The form can be printed at home and is available on the City’s website at OwenSound.ca/WasteForm.

Hazardous waste from commercial, industrial or farm operations cannot be accepted. A full list of accepted materials is available at OwenSound.ca/Waste. Please note that the following is not accepted:

• Infectious wastes (such as syringes; for information about sharps and syringe disposal, please see Grey Bruce Public Health's site here)
• Radioactive wastes
• Explosives (ammunition, flares, gunpowder)
• Unidentified waste (unlabeled items)
• Improperly contained waste (compromised containers, missing lids, leaking materials)

Residents are reminded that improperly contained waste, such as compromised containers, missing lids, and leaking materials, should never be transported. They pose a health and safety risk and will not be accepted. Before bringing the original container to the site, safely place it in a clean, labelled container.

A full schedule of upcoming Household Hazardous Waste Days and other waste collection events is available at: OwenSound.ca/Waste.

Additionally, the City of Owen Sound also offers a leaf and yard waste compost site to Owen Sound, Georgian Bluffs and Meaford residents. Other waste management efforts and information are available at OwenSound.ca/Waste.

For more information, please contact Heidi Jennen, Supervisor of Environmental Services, at 519-376-4440 ext. 3223 or email hjennen@owensound.ca

Quick Facts:

• The City of Owen Sound’s Household Hazardous Waste and Goods Exchange Days are aimed at keeping hazardous and extra waste out of Ontario’s landfills and waterways.
• The next Household Hazardous Waste Day is Saturday, June 14, and the next Goods Exchange Day is Saturday, July 19.
• Residents who have hazardous items not accepted at the City’s event can search the Resource Productivity & Recovery Authority’s (RPRA’s) ‘Where to Recycle’ map to find locations that accept such materials.
• A full list of accepted materials, the Hazardous Waste form, and more waste reduction tips are available at OwenSound.ca/Waste

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