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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Toxic, dangerous household substances can be disposed of for free and safely on Saturday May 23 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., at the community arena parking lot.

"This'll be the second one." said Bruce Underhay, who is the bailing facility manager for the city. "We actually held one last September. It was really successful. We got a lot of good comments from it, and we're gonna try to do two per year."

"Last year was the first one held in Yellowknife for years upon years. We didn't really know how it would go and we tried to get the word out there the best that we could - and the amount of people that were showing up with their items was unreal."

Underhay estimated about 300 people showed up with their waste. The city plans to hold these twice a year - in the fall and in the spring.

"In other communities in the NWT, we're still trying to get them going on a more regular basis," said Gerald Enns, hazardous waste specialist with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"Lots of the household hazardous wastes are toxic to the environment and when released into the landfill, they will percolate through the ground and into the groundwater," said Enns.

"There's a wide range of household hazardous wastes. Old fuel is flammable, it presents a fire hazard and it can also get knocked over and create a spill. There's items in your home that contain mercury, like fluorescent lighting. Thermostats contain a small bulb of mercury - if those break and spill, you'll have mercury contamination in your home. A lot of cleaners and solvents give off harmful fumes."

Enns said most of the waste will be consolidated into drums suitable for transport and they'll be shipped to hazardous waste facilities outside the NWT.