Lupuskan dengan berhemah

Lupuskan dengan berhemah

discard-with-care

Are you serious about cutting down on your household waste? Are you having trouble getting rid of hazardous materials like batteries and old cellphones, that shouldn't be tossed in with regular garbage? Sometimes it takes extra effort to reduce your carbon footprint and ensure hazardous waste stays out of the main garbage stream.

The Observer's Cathy Dobson compiled this page of tips and ideas to get the ball rolling. E WASTE The volume of defunct computers, printers, cellphones and stereo equipment generated in the home is often a frustration. But there's an easy solution. Since 2002, Joe Black and Pam Vandeweghe have operated Digital Friends, recently moved to 1121 Evett St., just off Confederation. Digital Friends accepts almost all electronics free-of-charge. But they won't take televisions, smoke detectors (which contain radioactive material) or anything with refrigerant.

Currently, there's a $25 fee when you drop off a monitor.

All computers and equipment are disassembled on site and most are shipped to a recycling facility in Ontario. Some are refurbished for resale and others are given away to worthy organizations. The list of items that can be dropped off is impressive. It includes: power tools, dryers, washers, microwaves, cellphones, telephones and VCRs. Virtually anything with a plug or a small battery -- working or not working -- can be taken to Digital Friends at no cost. Open Monday through Friday from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. Call 519- 344-3334.

Sarnia's Future Shop also accepts a variety of e-waste including old cellphones, CD players, MP3 players, CDs, portable DVD players and ink cartridges. A green box inside the front door is almost constantly full, a company spokesman said. To find out more, visit www.futureshop.ca/green. If you live in Corunna, there's a handy collection box at the front of Foodland where the Mooretown Optimists are collecting old cellphones, ink cartridges and laser cartridges. The "ThinkGreen" program will give the club some money for their efforts and plant a tree for every 12 cartridges or cell phones.

HOUSEHOLD ALKALINE AND RECHARGEABLE

BATTERIES

If you're throwing your dead AA, AAA, C, D, or 9-volt batteries in the garbage, you're adding toxic mercury to the water table. Stop! There is a growing number of places in Sarnia-Lambton that will safely dispose of them. For instance, Canadian Tire has a drop-off box in Aisle 57 for rechargeables (not alkaline).

Lambton Mall has introduced a community service program this year that accepts any dry cell battery, alkaline and rechargeable. Drop boxes are located in the mall outside Canadian Tire and outside The Source as you approach Sears. The program has really taken off and 1,000 pounds of batteries have already been collected and shipped to a recycler in Ayr Ont.

Another new program is just getting underway at Lambton County's 26 library branches where drop-off boxes are available for dead alkaline and rechargeable batteries. Lambton County is running this program and will collect all those old batteries and ship them off to the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC).

Note to local businesses:You can register with RBRC online ( www.rbrc.org)and they will send you empty boxes to collect used rechargeable batteries and cellphones. They'll also pay the shipping costs for you t o send full boxes back to them. Jim Kutyba, Lambton County's general manager of infrastructure, has registered the county with RBRC and placed one of the boxes for the public's convenience at the public works reception area at county headquarters in Wyoming.

RBRC is a non-profit public service organization that was created and is funded by the rechargeable battery industry. It's based in Atlanta. Future Shop has also gotten into the recycling act and recently expanded the number of items the store accepts. Drop old batteries into the green box inside Future Shop's front door in Sarnia and they will be sent to a recycler in Cambridge, Ontario.

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS AND TUBES

Those wonderfully energy efficient CFL light bulbs are on the hazardous waste list. They contain mercury within the glass tubing. Use them because they last much longer and use less electricity than conventional bulbs, but be sure to get rid of them properly. The Lambton Mall's new recycling program offers two drop-off points for CFL bulbs and tubes, one just outside Canadian Tire and the other just outside The Source. RONA Cashway in Sarnia also accepts used CFL.

bulbs (not the tubes). They can be deposited at R O N A' s exit door.

USED MOTOR OIL

For those who still change their own vehicle's oil, there are a number of local garages, like the one at Canadian Tire, that accept the old gunk.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

DAYS

Every year, thousands of local residents line up outside Clean Harbors on Telfer Road to get rid of corrosive, toxic, reactive and flammable waste materials. This is a highly successful program co-sponsored by Clean Harbors and Lambton County and, if you've got the patience to wait in line, you can unload a bunch of nasty stuff. Anyone with old paint, solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals and other products that compromise the environment, should take them on one of six designated days.

No more days are scheduled for 2008, but next spring they resume on the last Saturday of March, April, May, June, September and October. The county is also organizing one mobile event that allows Lambton residents who live far from Clean Harbors to take advantage of the service.

TELEVISIONS

This is a tough one. We couldn't find any recycler willing to take them. You can still put your old TV out on the curb and it will likely be picked up and taken to the landfill. But that's not environmentally responsible. If you can hold on for another six months or so, provincial legislation will kick in that dictates all retailers who sell TVs must accept old ones and dispose of them properly. The old cathode ray tubes are an environmental issue so do the right thing.

ALUMINUM

You can throw your pop cans into the blue box or you can support a local charity like the Lambton Shrine Club. The Shriners collect heaps of aluminum cans every year. The money they get from selling them is used to support their children's hospital programs. Householders can drop their cans off at the Shrine Club headquarters, which is now in Point Edward at the Ex-Servicemen's Club on Michigan. If your workplace wants to get into the act, the Shriners provide large bags for collection and will come pick them up if you call. Dial 519-344-3282 for more information.

OLD PAINT

There's likely several local paint outlets that will accept your old paint, but we know for sure that RONA Cashway takes it. They don't want solvents, aerosol cans or empty paint cans, but the store welcomes old household paint for recycling.

DISCARDED BUILDING MATERIALS

Sarnia's Habitat for Humanity operates a Restore at 460 Christina St. and accepts all sorts of household items for resale. Take your old windows, doors, cabinets, tools, lighting fixtures, and appliances to Restore. Old carpets are acceptable too if they are in good condition.

PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS

For those of you who still don't regularly take reusable cloth grocery bags to the store (you know who you are . . . you have a drawer at home exploding with plastic), A & P Super Fresh Stores on London and Exmouth streets has a bag depot.

There are also several charitable organizations that could use them including Habitat's Restore (339-7957) and possibly some of the local thrift shops.

DON'T FORGET TO BLUEBOX

Every other week, residents in Point Edward and Sarnia can take their recyclables to the curb-side. That includes newspapers, flattened cardboard, telephone books, fine paper, magazines, plastic bottles coded 1 and 2 on the bottom, as well as any plastic tubs and lids such as margarine containers. The recycling program now includes box board, which covers items like cereal boxes and kleenex boxes. Glass and cans are also accepted.

Be sure to separate the fibre from the rest. In other words, those boxes don't go in with the glass and plastic. Beach bottles must be rinsed. Unfortunately, the local recycling program does not take plastic bottles coded three to seven, plastic bags, Styrofoam, broken glass or milk cartons.

Bulk items are also picked up on garbage day including large appliances, furniture, mattresses, barbecues (no tanks) and refrigerators with the doors removed. Freon must be removed, which generally costs about $75.

OLD CLOTHES AND FURNITURE

If your old stuff is truly something that someone else might want to use, consider giving it to one of the local second-hand outlets such as Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army or the Clothesline program operated by the Canadian Diabetes Association. Clothesline will collect your old clothes, dishes, and knickknacks at your doorstep and sell them to Value Village. The profit goes to fight diabetes. Some of the other charities, such as Goodwill, also have pickup service.

OLD REFRIGERATORS AND AIR CONDITIONERS

Save $120 to $150 a year by unplugging old fridges at your house. In the interest of removing older, inefficient fridges and freezers from the electricity system, The Ontario Power Authority has a Great Refrigerator Round Up program. It started in June 2007 and has been such a success, it will continue for the foreseeable future. Simply make an appointment and a professional will come take your fridge away free-of-charge. If you also have an old window air conditioner, that will also be accepted and decommissioned in an environmentally responsible manner.

Just ensure your appliances are 10 years or older and still working.

Check out the OPA's Every Kilowatt Counts website on the Internet for more details and call the customer contact centre at 1-877-797-9473 to make an appointment.