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It was a roundup of hazardous household waste

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Rick Weik loads up one of the 50 unwanted TV’s that were brought in during the event.

Several vehicles were already waiting in line at the District of Barriere parking lot before the opening time of 9:00 a.m. on May 28th.   Area residents were there to drop off loads of hazardous household waste and recyclable materials at no charge, courtesy of the Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD).  Area business Rick Weik’s ‘Rubbish Removal and Recycling’ service were also on site with two large containers for the collection of various electronic appliances and batteries.

The parking lot became a busy place, and the loaded vehicles continued to roll in until closing time.  TNRD staff also supplied several barrels for the public to be able to empty waste oil into. The full barrels were then loaded onto a large truck for transfer to Kamloops, and from there they will go to another collection center for transfer to North Vancouver and recycling. Then the oil is cleaned, and made ready to be resold and reused.

District of Barriere staffer Ellen Krause was there helping out with sorting items as they came in, keeping  track of the vehicles as they arrived,  and keeping everything in order. Asked how the District was involved with the event she said “Aside from offering the parking lot, we have been promoting the ‘Roundup”, and offering volunteer help.”

Rick Weik said, “I cannot speak for the rest of it, but the e-waste and metal waste deposit was a great success; Kevin Bryant and I took in at least 50 TV’s, and over 20 printers/faxes/copiers and scanners.  Only about 10 CPUs  this year; but four vacuums, seven microwaves, and more than 80 phone systems, satellite receivers, game consoles, and other miscellaneous small electrical appliances and fixtures.  All the metal, circuit boards etc., which contain some metals, we don’t want in the landfill; they go to recyclers in Kamloops. We also took in about 40 car and truck and trailer (lead acid) batteries. It was a great event; I hope we can do it again next year.”

Jamie Vieira, Waste Diversion Technologist, commented that compared to similar events that had already taken place in several locations, Barriere was the best attended, with more than double the loads brought in. It is hoped to make this new initiative a yearly event, but at this time this is still under discussion.

Watch the Star/Journal for a detailed report on the TNRD hazardous waste collection in a future edition.