Four dates are set for popular garbage disposal event, open to Surrey residents only

Free Pop-Up Junk Drop events kick off this weekend in Surrey. (Photo: surrey.ca)

The City of Surrey’s popular and free Pop-Up Junk Drop events are about to begin, with the first of four events set for this Saturday (May 5).

It’s an opportunity for Surrey residents to skip a trip to the dump, and it doesn’t cost a thing.

The events are an effort to curb illegal dumping in the Surrey, which in 2015 cost the city about $1 million.

Since 2007, illegal dumping has cost the city well over $8 million.

“This is about making it easy,” Councillor Bruce Hayne told the Now-Leader in 2016. “When it becomes too onerous to do the right thing there’s a certain percentage of people who do the wrong thing. We just want to make it as simple as possible.”

See also: Surrey looks to curb illegal dumping with ‘Pop-Up Junk Drop’

Held at the Surrey Operations Centre at 6651 148th St., all of the this year’s junk drop-off events will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The other three events are set for May 26, June 16 and July 14.

The city says identification is required and to gain entry, residents must bring a valid government-issued ID that proves you’re a Surrey resident.

Accepted items include furniture, mattresses, electronics, small and large appliances, scrap metal, bikes, renovation waste such as sinks, toilet or wood, but residents are advised to keep clean and dirty wood separated.

Other accepted items are Styrofoam, mixed paper (including cardboard), mixed plastic (such as toys, household items, garden furniture), metal food containers, glass jars, infant car seats, and tires without rims. Light bulbs, lighting fixtures and transformers are also accepted.

This year, donations are also going to be accepted, by Salvation Army and Diabetes Canada.

Items being accepted for donation include gently used clothing, clothing accessories, used sporting equipment, small appliances, housewares (such as dishes, cutlery and cookware), tools and decor.

Large items such as furniture cannot be dropped off as donations.

The city asks that items are “pre-sorted in your vehicle to ensure quick and easy drop-off at the event.”

“The drop-off areas in sequence will be as follows: recycling, renovation/furniture and donations/reusable,” notes the city’s website.

Another important rule to keep in mind is that no hazardous materials, drywall or fuel are accepted.

“We will not accept commercial waste and we will not accept waste from commercial vehicles,” the city states. “No asbestos containing materials, drywall, plaster, joint compound, vinyl flooring, ceiling tiles, vermiculite, old chimney bricks, explosives, or ammunition.”

Further, no dirt, rocks, sand, roofing materials, drywall, concrete, bricks, asbestos containing materials, or unidentified waste from commercial properties will be accepted. The same goes for paint, solvents, flammable liquids, gasoline, or pesticides.

Other unaccepted items include animal waste, animal carcasses, car parts, lead-acid batteries, large tree stumps, or hot tubs.

Also of note, no commercial vehicles will be allowed at the event, with the maximum vehicle size being a one-ton truck.

“Any truck larger than one ton will be turned away,” the city states, adding only one trip per household will be allowed for one-ton trucks.

And “no trailers with hydraulic lifts and/or larger than eight feet long.”

For more information, call 604-590-7289 or visit surrey.ca.