Drop off items for reuse, recycling and safe disposal at Durham’s Environment Days

Whitby, Ontario – The Regional Municipality of Durham, in partnership with the area municipalities, is inviting residents to attend one of the upcoming Environment Days to donate items for reuse, recycling and safe disposal.

The two events run from 8 a.m. until noon (rain or shine). The first event on Saturday, June 4, will be hosted at the Foster Hewitt Memorial Community Centre (176 Main Street) in the Township of Brock’s community of Beaverton. The second event on Saturday, June 18, will be at the Whitby Operations Centre (333 McKinney Drive) in the Town of Whitby.

Residents can donate items in good condition for reuse, including clothing and textiles, shoes, bedding, small household items and sporting goods. Only items deemed to be suitable for reuse by local charities will be accepted. Materials refused by charities must be removed by residents and may be disposed at one of the Region’s waste management facilities, and fees may apply.

Residents can also safely recycle their end-of-life electronic waste at Environment Days, which helps to recover and recycle valuable resources while keeping toxic materials out of the waste stream. Examples of electronic waste include cell phones, audio and video players, VCRs, DVD and Blu-Ray players, stereos, computers, televisions, cameras, radios and more. Residents should erase personal information from hard drives and SIM cards before bringing their obsolete, broken and end-of-life electronics for safe and secure recycling.

To help ensure household hazardous waste (HHW) items are safely disposed of, and to prevent toxic materials from entering local ecosystems and water sources, residents can also bring HHW items to the Environment Days event. Examples of HHW includes antifreeze, batteries, brake fluid, motor oil and filters, fluorescent light bulbs and tubes, cooking oil, medication, mercury thermostats and more. Commercial, institutional, agricultural, or industrial waste is not permitted.

Residents are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item, to be donated to a local food bank (please check that boxes and cans aren’t damaged, opened or expired). To learn more about waste management in Durham Region, or for more information including tips for attending a collection event, visit durham.ca/waste , email waste@durham.ca, call 1-800-667-5671 or download the Durham Region Waste App.

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For media requests, please contact CorporateCommunications@durham.ca.