Durham Region residents are reminded to place their household batteries outside with their regular blue box recycling date next week, Nov. 6 to 10.

The Region’s household battery collection program runs twice per year, once in the Spring and once in the Fall, coinciding with Earth Week celebrations and the Fire Department’s Autumn promotion to change smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries. These are one-week collection periods, and the Region asks residents not to place household batteries in the blue box or garbage at any other time.

In Spring of 2016, the Region collected 14.92 tonnes of batteries. In the Fall of last year, they collected 18.45 tonnes.

Residents can use their own sealable, transparent bags to participate in the collection program. Orange labels with instructions about how to participate in the program were included in the annual waste management calendar. Residents can also download and print the label before inserting it inside their sealable, transparent bag for collection.

The Region asks residents to place the bags holding the batteries and labels on top of their paper fibre container to reduce the risk of batteries getting lost in the container stream.

Anyone who misses the collection dates can visit the Regional Waste Management Facility page or the Community Events page for a recycling location and/or collection events nearby.

For more information about the battery collection program, visit www.durham.ca.