All batteries, including single-use and rechargeable batteries, are considered household hazardous waste and cannot be placed in your garbage or recycling.

Safe disposal of hazardous waste helps to protect you, waste collectors, and the environment. This is because hazardous materials can pose a variety of risks, from skin damage on contact to ground water and soil contamination. Flammable hazardous materials like batteries have also been known to cause fires when they are compressed in collection vehicles or at waste management facilities.

Batteries should be brought to one of the County’s two hazardous waste depots, free of charge.

    Oxford County Waste Management Facility
    384060 Salford Road, Salford

    City of Woodstock EnviroDepot
    944 James Street, Woodstock

Batteries can also be disposed of using Recycle Your Batteries, Canada! boxes located throughout the County. You can locate a drop-off box at www.recycleyourbatteries.ca.

Preparing Batteries for disposal

• Place used batteries back in their original packaging or a clear plastic bag
• Cover the positive (+) or charging terminals with tape

Safe Storage Tips

• Avoid placing loose batteries in drawers or containers that are metal or contain metal objects (e.g. coins, paper clips, screws)
• Store in a cool, dry place (avoid direct sunlight or extreme heat)
• Aim to drop off batteries within six months to avoid them becoming corroded or leaking.

Learn more about batteries at www.chargedforlife.ca

Acceptable Materials

• Scrap metal
• White goods appliances such as stoves, refrigerators and freezers

Note: Items which contain Freon or may have contained Freon will be subject to $10.00/unit surcharge unless properly tagged by an authorized Freon removal technician.

Tires are recycled for things like surfacing walking trails, sidewalks and driveways, roofing shingles, swings and playground equipment, athletic field turf and paving materials.

Passenger tires are accepted at the Oxford County Waste Management Facility if they are on or off the rim and must be clean. The facility will accept a maximum of 20 tires per day per person. For large loads or or farm/large truck/over sized tires, please contact the Waste Management Facility (landfill).

Oxford County has partnered with Diabetes Canada to reuse and recycle old textiles. Please visit their website for program rules.

Oxford County started a film plastic recycling in 2020 at four depot locations: Waste Management Facility, Tillsonburg Transfer Station, Beachville Fire Hall and the Woodstock EnviroDepot.

Like many municipalities, Oxford County no longer accepts plastic film as part of its municipal Blue Box Program due to the limited availability of recycling end markets for this type of material. As well, these materials are generally problematic and can damage mechanical recyclable processing equipment and easily contaminate other recyclables. The more material rejected through the recycling process, the more material is ultimately sent to the landfill.

Although the municipal blue box program is no longer a viable option for plastic film recycling, depots were established to allow Oxford County residents a place to drop off film plastic at any of the four depot locations identified above, free of charge.

The program aims to determine how much film plastic can be separated from the waste stream and ultimately diverted from the landfill.

Oxford County continues to encourage residents to reduce the use of film plastics by:

• Choosing reusable shopping bags, totes, boxes, etc. when going to the store
• Encouraging food producers, manufacturers and retailers to switch to reusable and recyclable plastic alternatives

What material is accepted and not accepted in the Film Plastic Program:

• Only #2 and #4 film plastic accepted
• Must be clean, dry, and bags must be empty
• Remove all food residue, styrofoam, paper and receipts, stickers and rigid plastic
• Avoid loose film, please bundle if possible

Oxford County farmers generate approximately 300 tonnes of bale and silage wrap annually. As faithful stewards of the county’s valuable agricultural resources, farmers now have an environmentally-conscious and sustainable way to dispose of plastics that would otherwise end up in a burn pile or the landfill.

Acceptable materials

• Silage bags
• Bunker covers
• Bale wraps
• Fertilizer bags
• Salt bags (blue, black and white)

Unacceptable materials

• Net wrap
• Twine mesh
• Contaminated or loose items

Requirements

• All materials must be reasonably clean and free of contamination.
• Materials must be sorted according to type, packed in collection bags and tied up.
• Loose or excessively dirty material will not be accepted and categorized as garbage.
• Cost for disposal: $50/tonne.

How it works

• Order free collection bags: 1-800-755-0394 or wastemanagement@oxfordcounty.ca
• Deliver your items to the Waste Management Facility

Styrofoam, also known as expanded polystyrene (EPS), is used as protective packaging for electronics and appliances. Polystyrene brought to the Waste Management Facility for disposal will be recycled for use in products like picture frames, construction material, packaging and synthetic lumber.

Do you have a large quantity of bulky, rigid white Styrofoam to dispose of? If you have more than 2 cubic metres of bulky Styrofoam to recycle, please contact Second Wind Recycling to organize a direct haul from your site. Second Wind Recycling is based in St. Thomas, Ontario and can be reached by phone at 519-494-4984 or via their website at: http://www.secondwindrecycling.com

Using the recycling depot is the same as using your personal blue box, with the same requirements and material limitations. Bagged recycling is not permitted. Cardboard must be flattened to put it in the cardboard bin although size restrictions do not apply

Unacceptable material

• Plastic coated cardboard.

For more information review the program rules here.