Roundup day collecting hazardous waste

High Country residents can drop off paint, oil and other hazardous containers they’ve been storing at a recycling roundup Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the waste transfer station.

The event follows changes made to the MD of Foothills transfer station north of Black Diamond, including the removal of a shed earlier this year that used to store such materials due to health concerns. To prevent the hazardous materials it no longer collects on a regular basis from ending up in the landfill the MD will host two recycling roundup events each year.

Foothills Regional Landfill manager Joe Angevine said it was found there were ventilation issues with the shed used to collect those materials.

“You would open that door and sometimes it would smack you in the face with who knows what,” he said of the fumes. “We went through all the different legislative codes and there were a number of potential problems (with these sheds). It’s mostly a safety problem.”

Hazardous material can still be brought to the regional landfill north of Okotoks at no charge, Angevine said. He said he understands it can be an inconvenience for rural residents who live far from the site.

“The plan moving forward is we will do these roundups twice a year through companies that have expertise and training to do that properly and permits to transfer that stuff,” he said. “We are doing our best to ensure now that we are not collecting at these different sites we don’t want it to go into the waste stream. This way you are more likely to have people putting it where it should be. Otherwise it ends up getting tossed in the garbage or dumped into ditches.”

The Alberta Recycling Management Authority is providing the MD of Foothills with $10,000 annually to cover advertising costs and $5,000 for operational and waste collection costs, allowing the MD to offer the program twice a year in both Priddis and Black Diamond, said Angevine.

He said the recycling roundups will take place each spring and fall.

In addition to the removal of the shed, the 20-year-old Black Diamond transfer station also underwent much-needed repair work this year.

Harry Riva-Cambrin, the MD’s municipal manager, said an office was built for the station worker, who previously worked from his truck, concrete pads at the bins were added to prevent trucks from sinking into the ground and several collapsing walls were repaired over the summer.

The $50,000 cost was split evenly between the MD, Black Diamond and Turner Valley.

“It was a small project but it was a successful project between the three municipalities,” he said.

Riva-Cambrin said the majority of transfer station users are area MD residents who don’t have garbage collection at their acreage or property so instead purchase bags at the facility. The bags are stored at the transfer station and transported to the regional landfill.

Black Diamond and Turner Valley residents can also purchase garbage bags, but often use the facility more for composting grass clippings and dead branches.

Yard waste collected at the transfer station is transported to the Foothills Regional Landfill and a compost fee is charged to both towns based on tonnage.

The transfer station collects about 100 tons of leaves, branches and grass clippings annually, and about 30 tons of garbage each year.

The facility operates from April to October on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from November to April on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To learn which materials can be brought to the recycling roundup on Saturday visit www.mdfoothills.com