Peel region issues reminder for safe disposal of mercury-containing items

The Region of Peel continues to remind the public about their Mercury Roundup program, which allows residents and small businesses to recycle mercury products for free.

The Region of Peel continues to remind the public about their Mercury Roundup program, which allows residents and small businesses to recycle mercury products for free.

It’s important to remember that mercury products are not collected at the curb, but can be dropped off at local Community Recycling Centres.

The Mercury Roundup program is a program in partnership with the Region of Peel, Scout Environmental, an award-winning environment and health organization, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, one of Canada’s largest granting foundations.

Since 2016, the Region of Peel has collected over 700 mercury-containing products and recovered over 30kgs of liquid mercury. The Mercury Roundup Program aims to educate Peel residents about the different types of items containing mercury and how to safely dispose of them.

“There are many older mercury-containing items in people’s basements, garages, and storage units—items like thermometers, thermostats, blood pressure monitors, and button batteries. We want to make sure these items don’t get thrown in the garbage or in recycling, where they pose a risk to the environment,” said Community Recycling Centre Supervisor Dwayne Cromwell.

The Region of Peel has issued a reminder about properly and safely disposing products containing mercury and would like to remind the public that if you find an older item containing mercury, to not throw it in the garbage which will help to keep this toxic chemical out of the environment.

For a full list of items that may contain mercury, click here.