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Dangerous items being found in recycling, City of Lethbridge issues reminder

Concerns being raised about some things being thrown into Lethbridge recycling bins.

There have been several recent incidents at the Waste and Recycling Centre that have put the safety of workers at risk.

Manager Steve Rozee says issues have been caused by the improper disposal of material ending up at both the landfill and the Materials Recovery Facility which sorts the city’s recycling.

“The biggest thing that concerns us is people putting in things that can explode,” says Rozee. “Things with compressed gases like propane tanks and helium containers from kids parties, and fire extinguishers. These are all items that can propel and explode, which can be very dangerous to our workers.”

Rozee says residents can easily go to the City of Lethbridge website to see what can and can’t tossed into curbside blue bins.

Other items being found are things like batteries. Rozee says if broken, the chemicals in the batteries can catch fire which has happened three times in recent days at the landfill. Workers at the Waste and Recycling Centre, who sort through the items, have also discovered bottles of vehicle oil, spray paint cans, antifreeze containers, garden hoses, bicycle tires still on the rims, pots and pans, and even a bowling ball.

Rozee says a worker at the Materials Recovery Facility had to go to the emergency room after getting cut by glass while sorting. Glass can not be thrown into Lethbridge blue bins.

He says another example is a tonne and half of recycles was completely ruined after used motor oil contaminated numerous items.

Lethbridge is receiving about 30 tonnes of recycling a day and Rozee notes workers on a daily basis are finding dangerous or non-recyclable items.

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
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