Keep your old, broken power tools out of the landfill and recycle them! These items are now part of the BC Product Stewardship Program. The Canadian Electrical Stewardship Association (CESA) was formed to manage ElectroRecycle, a program to recycle small appliances in British Columbia. On July 1, 2012 it has expanded to include power tools and exercise equipment. Consumers are now able to drop these off for recycling at collection points across the province.
ElectroRecycle accepts more than 300 electrical products ranging in size from electric toothbrushes, countertop microwave ovens, hand-held drills to treadmills. Power tools are divided into categories including: test and measurement tools, hand-held power tools, bench-top, demolition, and free-standing power tools as well as additional designated very small items.
The program recycles small appliances designed for residential use only and powered by batteries or plugged in to 12 Volt or 120 Volt power. Click to expand the categories below and see which products are accepted or click here for a PDF.
Reduce | Reuse | Recycle | Facilities
How do I go green?
Reduce
Do you really need the latest and greatest digital tire gauge, autofeed screwdriver or power scraper? It might be better to stay with your current power tools if they meet your needs. Convenience items used by Canadians have many negative consequences globally. If you must purchase new items, consider buying the most durable ones you can afford so you won’t have to replace them any time soon. Consider sharing the cost and tools with a neighbour, friend or family member. Look for energy efficient tools or better yet, manually operated tools. Consider the packaging as well. Less is best. Avoid Styrofoam if possible and be sure to recycle any paper, cardboard and plastic packaging. Go to Styrofoam for Styrofoam recycling options as well.
Reuse
Donate your old, working power tools to a charity, community group, school or church (keep in mind that these groups cannot use items that “can be fixed”) or offer it for free online through Craigslist or UsedVictoria. Consider repairing items whenever possible instead of purchasing new ones.
Recycle
As of July 1st, 2012 the small appliance recycling program was expanded to include power tools and exercise equipment. You pay for this service with an environmental handling fee (EHF) when you purchase new small appliances, power tools and exercise equipment.
Hundreds of different types of small appliances, power tools and exercise equipment are included in the program. A full list of products in each of these categories is available on the CESA products page or on the ElectroRecycle website under Accepted Products.
The full list of depots is available on the depot page .
Note: Not all locations will be able to accept very large bench-top power tools with an integrated stand and very large exercise machines like treadmills. Click here to find your nearest collection sites for these very large products only.
Note: Not all of the facilities listed below are part of the Product Stewardship program. If they are not they may charge a convenience fee.
Note: Small appliances, power tools and exercise equipment are not accepted in the curbside recycling program.
Facilities
Asset Investment Recovery - Victoria
4234 Glanford Avenue
Victoria
250-952-5097
Bottle Depot, The - Glanford
4261 Glanford Avenue
Saanich
250-727-7480
Bottle Depot, Victoria, Queens
655 Queens Avenue
Victoria
250-727-7480
Hartland Recycling Facility
# 1 Hartland Avenue
Victoria
250-360-3030
Salt Spring Island Recycling Depot
349 Rainbow Road
Salt Spring Island
250-537-1200
Salvation Army - View Royal
307 Island Highway
Victoria
250-708-0520
Sidney Bottle Depot
#5-10025 Galaran Road
Sidney
250-655-4878
The Environmental Story
Household power tools and appliances have an environmental impact in all phases of their lifecycle; during production, while in use and at end of product life.
In the production process, plastics and metals are the major constituent parts of power tools. In addition, heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium are commonly used in the electronic components. Other environmentally harmful substances such as polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) may be used as flame retardants in the products.
These heavy metals and chemicals can accumulate in the food chain causing chronic and/or acute health impacts to humans and harm to ecosystems.
When an appliance is in use, off gassing, noise emissions and energy consumption are concerns. At the end of its product life cycle, the worn-out appliance and its packaging materials, if not recycled, will increase the burden of our landfill sites through indiscriminate disposal.
Did You Know?
Many of these items are operated by batteries. There is a separate program in BC for battery recycling, including rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries. If batteries can be easily removed from a small appliance, they should be returned through the Call2Recycle program. If batteries are not designed to be removed, the small appliance can be returned with the batteries included.
For more information about CESA and the Small Appliance Recycling Program in B.C., please visit www.cesarecycling.ca. Toll free: 1 877 670 2372 ext. 205
Questions? Call the CRD Hotline.
We can answer your questions on the Hartland landfill, composting, household hazardous waste, recycling and more!
t: 250.360.3030
toll-free: 1.800.663.4425 #3030
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