In May, Alice Springs Town Council, in conjunction with the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment and the Department of Business and Industry &endash; Work Health Authority, conducted a free hazardous chemical disposal day. The aim was to combat the potential problems of dangerous products being stored in domestic settings.
“We provided an excellent opportunity for our residents to safely and responsibly dispose of hazardous waste items that may have been lying around their homes,” said Council’s Director of Planning and Infrastructure, Roger Bottrall.
Environment Officer, Ange Vincent, said the collection day yielded some interesting discoveries. This included unrecognisable chemicals dating back to pre world war two.
“Fortunately, we had the advantage of the DLPE computer database to help us identify chemicals and their hazards for sorting,” she said.
Other products collected included phosphorous, chloroform and formaldehyde, many precariously stored in rusty containers.
Residents brought their domestic chemicals to the landfill. From here materials were sorted, packed and prepared for safe transportation to a registered chemical disposal facility in Perth.
While the collection netted many hazardous chemicals Ange Vincent believes there is probably still many dangerous products lurking in sheds around the town.
She said the landfill was chosen as the collection point to minimise danger should an accident occur during the collection.
The collection not only provided the opportunity to rid many domestic settings of hazardous chemicals, it also allowed for the recycling of some unwanted products.
“Parks and Gardens staff were able to make use of some clean unopened chemicals and around 100 litres of paint suitable for undercoating of street furniture and the like,” Ange Vincent said.
For further information contact Ange Vincent, telephone (08) 8950 0500.
