Weekly Hazardous Waste Drop Offs in SF

Jul 10, 2014

Residents of South Frontenac are lucky in that they are able to drop off hazardous waste materials at no charge and no limit on a weekly basis at a designated site in the township. Residents in Central Frontenac on the other hand are given one free opportunity a year to drop off hazardous waste, which if missed means they have to hang onto the stuff for another long year.

Recognizing a rising demand for such a service, South Frontenac Township staff opened the hazardous waste site, which is located at 2491 Keeley Road, in June 2011. Built using federal gas tax money, numbers from a 2013 report show that the site was well utilized by residents. In 2013 alone a total of 1683 residents used the service. Staff at the township decided to contract out the collection of the hazardous materials to a company called Drain All Ltd., which runs out of Ottawa and Napanee. Drain All staff man the site, which is open to South Frontenac residents every Thursday from April 1 to October 31, 3 to 8pm and every second and fourth Thursday from November 1 to March 31, 3 - 7pm.

Materials that can be dropped off include dry and wet batteries, antifreeze, aerosols, paints and paint-related materials, adhesives and other corrosive liquids, oil, oil filters, fluorescent tubes, fire extinguishers, flammable liquids, pharmaceutical waste, non-refillable propane containers, pesticides and fertilizers, empty oil and antifreeze containers, electronic waste like televisions, fax machines, cell phones and computers, boat and hay bale wrap, small white appliances like toasters, microwaves and bread makers, and also non-recyclable plastic items like lawn furniture and other large plastic items. The site does not accept any metal.

South Frontenac Public Works Manager, Mark Segsworth, seems pleased with the numbers reported in 2013 and said that the service “helps to mitigate the impact of hazardous waste on the environment and on the township's landfills by minimizing the hazardous materials entering the environment through landfill sites.”