Midhurst/November 2, 2017 – The County of Simcoe and the City of Barrie are partnering to collect dead batteries at the curb. The municipal partners would like to remind residents that battery bags are arriving in the mail in late-October and curbside collections will occur November 6-10, 2017 in each municipality. The County and Barrie are joining forces again this year to create greater operational efficiencies and to grow regional participation. This is the fourth year the County of Simcoe has offered this service, and it will be the third year for Barrie.
Battery bags, with instructions, will be mailed to households in late-October. Disposable battery bags are also available at County of Simcoe and City of Barrie Waste Management facilities or local municipal/city offices. Battery collection will occur during the week of November 6, 2017 only and will be collected by the recycling trucks. Battery bags must be placed curbside for collection in a visible location beside (not inside) the recycling box on residents' regularly scheduled collection day.
The program is for single use batteries only, including type AAA, AA, A, C, D, 9 volt and button batteries commonly used for hearing aids and watches. Rechargeable batteries, cell phone and lap top batteries, car, industrial and battery packs are NOT accepted in the program, but may be taken to any County of Simcoe or City of Barrie household hazardous waste facility for safe, free disposal.
Collected batteries will be consolidated and sent for processing to an Ontario company who separates the various components of the batteries, with approximately 90 per cent of the battery components being recycled.
"Our battery collection week continues to grow each year with 2.35 million batteries collected during the last four years," said Warden Gerry Marshall. "This is a convenient service that helps us keep batteries out of our landfills and we look forward to expanding with similar textile and electronics curbside collection programs in Simcoe County during 2018."
"This program continues to gain momentum each year, and the partnership with the County has been a huge factor in this success, said Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman. "The partnership has allowed us to create more awareness of the collection week and the need to keep batteries out of our landfill."
For more information about the single use battery collection week, please contact County of Simcoe Customer Service at 705-735-6901 or visit simcoe.ca. City of Barrie residents can visit barrie.ca/CurbsideCollection or call 705-739-4219.
About Barrie
Barrie is an exciting, caring and progressive community that 147,000 people call home. Situated 90 km north of the Greater Toronto Area on beautiful Kempenfelt Bay, Barrie offers an excellent life style and multitude of recreational opportunities. We are committed to the growth of prosperity of Central Ontario's leading City and most dynamic waterfront community.
About County of Simcoe
County of Simcoe is composed of sixteen member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca
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Contacts:
County of Simcoe
Collin Matanowitsch
Communications Co-ordinator
705.726.9300 ext. 1430
705.734.8386 (mobile)
Collin.Matanowitsch@simcoe.ca
City of Barrie
Scott LaMantia
Senior Communications Advisor
scott.lamantia@barrie.ca
705-739-4220 x4529