Castlegar residents are being urged to watch what they flush down their drains after a recent incident involving motor oil that severely impacted the South Sewage Treatment Plant.
“Our operators have been observing an influx of unacceptable and hazardous materials reaching our treatment facilities which obviously has a significant impact on our ability to properly treat the waste. said Chris Hallam, Director of Municipal Services.
“We’re asking the community to be more mindful of what goes down our drains so we can protect our infrastructure and the environment.”
“Unacceptable materials can include things like motor oil, large quantities of cooking oil, fats and greases, along with personal hygiene products, flushable wipes, dental floss and even hair.”
Guidelines for proper sewer system disposal
- Flushing items like motor oil or larger quantities of cooking oil can cause significant operational challenges and may result in the City exceeding regulatory limits.
- Fats, oils, and grease can block sewer pipes and cause flooding.
- Personal products like flushable wipes, condoms, tampons, pads, dental floss, and hair can create problematic clogs.
- Only human waste, toilet paper, and water should be flushed down the toilet.
Residents are encouraged to utilize available resources to dispose of hazardous materials properly.
“We are encouraging the residents to utilize available resources such as the what goes where feature on the city’s recycle app.”
The Regional District of Central Kootenay’s upcoming Household Hazardous Waste Round-Up will be held on September 21 at the Castlegar & District Community Complex parking lot between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The event provides an opportunity to safely dispose of items such as used motor oil, antifreeze, and other hazardous household products. Learn more at rdck.ca/hhwevents.
Learn more
For more information on proper disposal practices:
- Visit castlegar.ca/curbside or use the ‘What Goes Where’ feature on the Recycle Coach app. You can search for Recycle Coach using Google Play or the Apple App Store or go to recyclecoach.com
- Watch a brief educational video on proper disposal practices by our Assistant Manager — Utilities, Aaron Geck.
Something going on in your part of the Kootenays you think people should know about? Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
