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Programs and Services


Education Centre and Tours

The new Waste Management & Education Centre offers a variety of interactive displays that educate on environmental sustainability, renewable energy and zero waste. The center is primarily used for school and community visits, but interested members of the public can contact the Oxford County Public Works Department at 1-800-755-0394 to request a tour by appointment.

To learn more about the Waste Management & Education Centre, read the grand opening news release.

Download one of our brochures:
Waste Management & Education Centre school tour
Waste Management & Education Centre community tour brochure

Questionable Materials

A list of acceptable materials and where they go can be found on our recycling page.

Material

What to do with it?

Bulk Styrofoam

Recycled at the Oxford County Waste Management Facility (OCWMF) through a program with Second Wind Recycling

Batteries

Recyclable at the OCWMF in Salford, and through Oxford County Library branches and some Township sites and arenas

Electronics

Electronics are accepted at the OCWMF and recycled through a special program.

Remember to erase the memory on your computer, tablet or phone

Tires

Oxford County’s program has changed and there are now collection points at businesses in your community, along with the OCWMF.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous Waste should be brought to the OCWMF to be disposed of properly; Check out the Hazourdous Waste page for more information.

Asbestos

Asbestos can only be accepted under specific guidelines. Call the waste management department at 1-800-755-0394 to find out more.

Pressure Treated Wood

This material is considered waste as chemicals are used to treat the wood that make the material impossible to recycle. The The majority of pressure treated wood is used in outdoor environments and is tinted green.

Oversized Cardboard

Oversized cardboard is not accepted in our recycling trucks due to space restrictions. Oversized cardboard can be brought to the OCWMF free of charge.

Contaminated Soil

Soil contaminated with petroleum products or chemicals needs to pass Ontario Environmental Regulations to be accepted at the landfill. Please call 1-800-755-0394 for program details.

Waste Sorting Game

Why reduce and reuse?

Good habits at home

Practice waste reduction everyday. There are many things we can do to reduce the amount of waste we are producing in our daily lives. Here are a few ideas to help get you started:

Reuse

  • Bring reusable cloth bags when shopping
  • Use a travel mug when purchasing beverages, like coffee on the go
  • Repurpose household products like coffee tins and shoe boxes as storage containers
  • If you don’t use something anymore, and it’s still usable, donate it rather than throwing it in the garbage

Reusable products

Reduce

  • Use Tupperware and/or glass containers when packing lunches, rather than packaged or bagged items
  • Buy only what you need, and try to purchase items that have minimal packaging. Buy food items in bulk when possible.
 

Recycle

  • Set up recycling stations throughout your home to capture all of your available blue box recyclable materials.

Do more at home, work, and in your community

  • Home
    • Have a waste diversion set-up near your garbage can in the garage. This could include boxes and storage for recycling and compost, but also yard waste, hazardous waste, scrap metal, and other divertible materials
    • Plan out your shopping trips ahead of time and eat leftovers to limit how much food waste your household generates
  • Work
    • Pack a waste free lunch at work and for your children at school
    • Convince your workplace to start a recycling program and install a backyard composter. This could save the workplace money by reducing the costs of a weekly dumpster
  • Community
    • Pick up litter when going out to parks and around the neighborhood
    • When going out, always pack out what you pack in and recycle your containers and paper at home

Find out how you or your community group can “adopt” a section of road to keep clear of litter

Garbage diversion

Knowing what's in your garbage is the first step to preventing and reducing waste.

The word diversion refers to the amount of waste not sent to the landfill. Diverting waste out of your trash and into other waste streams is important because it allows items to be turned into another useful resource through recycling or composting methods. It helps to save space in our landfill, helping to extend its lifecycle. Also, diverting garbage away from the landfill helps to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Get everyone in your household involved in tracking what you are throwing out versus what you are recycling or composting using the online tool.

The 3 sliders below shows the different types of recyclables that you can divert. Move the slider left or right to show the percentage of waste you are diverting from your garbage.

The slider below shows the total garbage and how much of your waste is diverted and could be diverted. Move the first handle of the slider left or right to adjust the percentage of non-recycable waste in your garbage.

The pie charts below show the percentage of total recyclables in your garbage that you didn't divert.

Garbage
31%
Organics
47%
Recycables
13%
Paper
9%

The outer ring indicates the average percentage that is not diverted in Oxford County.

*Note: for educational purposes only.