Fall is just around the corner, and that probably means you’re folding up your deck chairs, putting on some warmer socks, and saying goodbye to grilling season.
However, if you use any kind of compressed gas to power your grill, it’s a hazardous material that should not be put in your recycling bins when you’re finished with it. Some examples of compressed gas are the refillable propane tanks used for home barbecues or camp stoves, disposable propane canisters, butane canisters, helium balloon tanks, and oxygen tanks.
Compressed gas containers are dangerous to include in your curbside or apartment recycling bins (these are just for packaging and paper) since they pose a healthy and safety risk to workers and to recycling facilities due to the potential for large scale damage.
The danger posed by compressed gas cylinders is primarily because of the potential for compressed gas to explode; if ruptured, cylinders can become self-propelled rockets, or they can catch fire, which is particularly dangerous in a sorting facility where other material being sorted, like paper and cardboard, is extremely flammable. Also, most compressed gases are toxic or corrosive, so special care must be taken to ensure no one is harmed during the recycling process.
Please do not include your compressed gas cylinders in your recycling bin. Instead, we ask that you take them to a safe drop-off location near you. To find the closest one to your address, contact the Recycling Council of BC at 1-800-667-4321 or search RCBC’s Recyclepedia’s app or website at RCBC.ca.