“When in doubt, don’t throw it out, make the drop,” is the slogan in a video release by Stewardship Ontario encouraging Ontarians to clean house and select one of 22 available drop zones for items such as aerosol containers, automotive antifreeze, batteries, drain cleaners and other corrosives or irritants, fertilizers, portable fire extinguishers, flammables, fluorescent tubes and bulbs, mercury items, empty oil containers, paints, pressurized containers, reactive materials, toxic materials, pharmaceuticals and sharp items such as needles.
Recycling now has another alternative and it is called Orange Drop. Hazardous and waste materials that likely have been collecting in basements and garages can now be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
The website, Makethedrop.ca, offers all the information one may need in determining what qualifies and where to take it.
Ontario's Government Scraps Some Eco Fees
While retailers may still charge eco fees, as of July 20, 2010, Ontario’s minister of the environment announced “an end to eco fees on consumer products designated under phase two of Orange Drop or the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste Program.” Retailers still charging the fee can be reported to a government consumer-protection hotline number provided on the website, 1-800-889-9768.
From their brochure, Stewardship Ontario, a not-for-profit organization “funded and governed by the industries (our stewards) that make and market the products and packaging materials managed under the Blue Box and Orange Drop recycling programs” encourages Ontarians to think beyond the box. Their goal is to keep landfills clear of these items, to reuse what is possible and to safely dispose of what is not reusable. They say to reduce, reuse and recycle and in doing that, buy only what you need, use it all up and dispose of the rest, described as BUD guidelines.
Niagara Wine Festival Hosts Orange Drop
The 2010 Niagara Wine Festival in St. Catharines featured an Orange Drop booth where patrons were lining up to learn about the new choices in recycling. Sean Magee, promotion and education co-ordinator, was on hand to educate festival patrons with promotional materials such as bags and Frisbees being freely handed out.
“Do you know what our website is?” he asks after his short but informative presentation, to which patrons nod their heads affirmatively while some vocalize the address.
Stewardship Ontario has their own website, Stewardshipontario.ca, where a virtual house tour is available designed to help you learn more about what to do in your home. "We purchase thousands of safe and useful products that have one thing in common: they require special handling at the end of their useful life," says the website.
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