Drop off unwanted electronics free of charge during E-Waste Amnesty Week, October 20-25, 2008

Halton Region is holding its annual E-Waste Amnesty Week to allow Halton residents to drop off electronic waste (e-waste) free of charge. E-Waste Amnesty Week will run from Monday October 20 to Saturday October 25 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Halton Waste Management Site (HWMS) located at 5400 Regional Road 25 in Milton.

Acceptable e-waste includes items such as computers, computer monitors, computer accessories such as keyboards, scanners, speakers and printers, televisions, VCRs, DVD players, remote controls, stereos, speakers, answering machines and MP3 players and associated cords.

“Discarded electronic waste is accumulating at an alarming rate worldwide,” said Gary Carr, Halton’s Regional Chair. “E-Waste Amnesty Week is an opportunity for residents to get involved to help divert unwanted electronics away from our landfill site.”

Last year during E-Waste Amnesty Week, residents successfully diverted 60 tonnes of e-waste to be recycled in an environmentally-safe manner. The recycling of e-waste includes dismantling items to recover useful materials for use in the manufacturing of new products.

According to Environment Canada, Canadians threw out an estimated 167,000 tonnes of E-waste in 2002. This amount is expected to increase to about 206,000 tonnes by 2010.

The E-Waste Amnesty Week is one of the initiatives identified in the Region’s 2006-2010 Solid Waste Management Strategy that will assist in reaching a goal of diverting 60 per cent of residential waste away from landfill. Halton Region’s E-Waste Amnesty Week coincides with the national Waste Reduction Week.

E-waste (excluding computer monitors and televisions) is accepted for recycling all year at the Halton Waste Management Site for a small fee ($5.00/load for up to 50 kg, $10/load for 51-150 kg). Electronics in good working order can often be taken to your local reuse center. Please call ahead to ensure that the item will be accepted. For a listing of local reuse centres visit, www.halton.ca/waste.

Please note that e-waste collected from industrial, commercial or institutional settings cannot be accepted free of charge during E-Waste Amnesty Week.

For more information about the E-Waste Amnesty Week please call Halton Region at 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866-442-5866, TTY 905-827-9833, or visit our website at www.halton.ca.

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