Mercury Rising – City of Barrie Wants Yours

Thermometers, fluorescent light bulbs, button batteries and more

The City of Barrie is on a mission to get rid of liquid mercury – the kind found in thermometers, thermostats and some blood pressure monitors.

It’s a potentially toxic chemical that can cause serious health problems and contaminate soil and water.

Proper handling and disposal are critical. Those items should not be put in with regular trash. The city asks that you drop them off, for free, at the waste disposal site on Ferndale Drive on Wednesday and Saturdays.

“We want to make sure these products don’t get thrown into the garbage accidentally, where they pose a risk to the environment,” said Sandra Brunet, Manager of Environmental Operations at the City. “Our priority for Mercury Roundup is to inform Barrie residents about the various types of older products containing mercury and to bring them in for safe disposal,” explains Brunet. “As an added incentive, the first 600 residents to bring in a mercury-containing product to the HHWD will also receive a digital thermometer, free of charge.”

MERCURY ROUNDUP FACTS

•        There is no cost for Barrie residents to bring in mercury-containing products.
•        Barrie’s HHWD is located at 272 Ferndale Drive North and is open regularly on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
•        Barrie’s HHWD is also open on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. between May 2, 2018 and October 3, 2018.

Visit www.MercuryRoundup.ca/Barrie to see a full list of items that may contain mercury and which you may still have in your home.