Also, according to Mayor Joanne Labadie, with so many retailers taking back and recycling the hazardous materials they sell, Council made the decision that it’s no longer necessary for the municipality to provide the service at the municipal hall in Luskville.

Labadie pointed to the fact that large retailers like Canadian Tire take back things like used motor oil and paint, while a companies like Best Buy – or even Renaissance Variety locally – recycle electronics.

“It doesn’t cost someone money to take it back where they got it from,” Labadie said. “But the cost for us to dispose of it for them is significantly more expensive on their tax bill. It’s not good financial management when a lot of this can be returned where it was purchased.”

On top of that, Labadie said the current location of the hazardous waste drop off site is not equipped to deal with these kinds of materials.

“The site that is currently being used does not meet any environmental standards as a hazardous waste facility,” Labadie said.

Labadie said that many of the hazardous materials sat outside in the elements, making it even riskier when it comes to environmental contamination.

That contamination comes with a price. Labadie said the municipality decided to be proactive instead of being forced to do so by the Ministry of the Environment.

“There’s always the potential of hefty fines,” Labadie said.

Those fines would not only add to resident’s tax bill, but Labadie said the municipality would have to phase out the program anyways.

Labadie also said that by doing this now, the municipality will save money on environmental cleanup, like soil remediation.

“We don’t believe there has been any soil contamination,” she said.

Labadie said another reason council decided to phase out the program was the fact that some folks were treating it like a dump.

“Somebody came in on the weekend and dumped a lot of garbage including a bathtub and some construction waste,” Labadie said.

That adds costs to the operation of the site because the municipality not only has to clean up the mess but has to pay someone to haul away the non-hazardous waste.

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