August 12, 1999
To:Works Committee
From:Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services
Subject:Pilot Battery Collection Program at City Hall (Ward 24)
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to provide a status of the one-year pilot used battery collection program for employees at City
Hall and to provide information on the extension of the pilot to new locations.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Funding in the amount estimated at $1,000.00 to finance the used battery collection program is accommodated within the
approved 1999 Operating Budget for the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Program.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that we continue to monitor the pilot battery collection program at City Hall and not pursue extension of
the pilot to new locations until the results at the end of the one-year pilot can be analyzed to determine if more locations for
battery collection are needed.
Council Reference/Background/History:
At its meeting of April 13, 14 and 15, 1999, City Council approved Clause No. 5 of Report No. 4 of the Works and
Utilities Committee which recommended that "a one-year pilot project to collect used batteries from City employees at City
Hall be implemented."
Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:
Bins for batteries were put into place in front of the East and West office towers at City Hall in June 1999. Staff in the
HHW Program at Metro Hall monitoring this pilot reported that approximately 15 pounds of batteries have been collected
to date. Most of these were collected from the bin located at the East office tower. Moreover, the bins were also used for
regular refuse and plastic/aluminum soft drink containers even though the signs on the bins clearly stipulate that only
batteries can be deposited. The batteries collected so far appear to be mainly alkaline types and not the rechargeable
nickel-cadmium types which are used mainly for cellular and cordless phones. We believe that these types of batteries are
likely collected through our main HHW Program or another program initiated by the Canadian Household Battery
Association (CHBA) which utilizes boxes to collect batteries located at many retail outlets.
Conclusions:
To date, the battery bins at City Hall have been utilized for the collection of batteries for recycling but a significant volume
of contaminated materials such as garbage and blue box materials have been received as well. We will continue to monitor
the pilot and a further report will follow at the end of the one-year pilot in June 2000.
Contact Name:
Dennis Lam
Supervisor - Hazardous Waste
Solid Waste Management Services
Works and Emergency Services
Metro Hall, 19th Floor
Phone: (416) 392-3668
Fax: (416) 392-4754
E-mail: dennis_lam@metrodesk.metrotor.on.ca
Angelos BacopoulosBarry H. Gutteridge
General ManagerCommissioner
Solid Waste Management ServicesWorks and Emergency Services
DL/ag/swm - PilotBat. doc
