Orange Drop
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What Can I Drop?Vehicle Engine Antifreeze/Coolant and its Containers

Vehicle Engine Antifreeze/Coolant and its Containers

  • Ethylene and propylene glycol used or intended for use as a vehicle engine coolant
  • Antifreeze returned in containers 30 litres or less (includes unused product or flushed product after Do-It-Yourself (DIY) service)

Why are Vehicle Engine Antifreeze/Coolants in Orange Drop Program?

They contain toxic ingredients. Improper storage or disposal of ethylene glycol antifreeze has the potential to negatively impact human health and the environment. Ethylene glycol based antifreeze is sweet tasting and may be unintentionally ingested by small children or animals if stored or disposed of improperly. Ethylene glycol is chemically broken down in the body into toxic compounds that affect the central nervous system, heart and kidneys. Although antifreeze based on propylene glycol is much less toxic than that based on ethylene glycol, collection and proper end-of-life management is important for resource conservation.

Find a Drop Site

  • Most municipal transfer stations and depots
  • Some local automotive service centres or garages
  • A service centre or garage will manage your discarded antifreeze if you have it changed at either of these locations
  • Use our search tool or check with your municipality for other drop-off locations and events such as Community Environment Days

Do I Need to Take Storage or Transport Precautions?

  • Collect and store spent antifreeze in a sealed, labeled, plastic or metal container, away from heat sources, children and pets
  • Handle antifreeze in an area that’s well ventilated, clean up spills with absorbent material, such as cat litter

What Happens to my Waste?

Collected antifreeze is sent for processing and refining prior to being resold to the market as vehicle antifreeze, or used for other applications.

What
Happens to
my Waste?

The Orange Drop program safely manages five materials to end-of-life, diverting harmful substances from landfill and waterways. Many of the materials collected through the Orange Drop Program, such as pressurized containers and batteries are reprocessed, refurbished or reused to make new products—easing the demand for energy and virgin resources.

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Event Calendar

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About Us

The five materials in the Orange Drop program are managed by Stewardship Ontario (batteries & pressurized containers) and Automotive Materials Stewardship (antifreeze, oil containers and oil filters).

Stewardship Ontario and Automotive Materials Stewardship are both not-for-profit organizations funded and governed by the industries that are the brand owners, first importers or franchisors of the products and packaging materials managed under our recycling programs.

At Orange Drop, we strive to find new ways to turn today’s waste into tomorrow’s consumer products.

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Blog

Wind up of the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) Program
Blog Post

October 29, 2019 - On April 12, 2018, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change issued direction to Stewardship Ontario to wind up the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) Program by December 31, 2020. Upon wind up, materials collected under the MHSW Program will be managed according to an individual producer responsibility (IPR) framework under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016. On December 11, 2018, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) amended the timelines for the wind up of single-use batteries, stating the waste diversion program for single-use batteries would cease operation on June 30, 2020 to allow for coordination with waste electrical and electronic equipment. On July 2, 2019, Stewardship Ontario received further direction from the MECP regarding the wind up of the MHSW Program. The new direction letter amendments are summarized below: The program to manage all designated materials except single-use batteries will now cease operation on June 30, 2021 instead of December 31, 2020. The program to manage single-use batteries will continue to cease operation on June 30, 2020. Stewardship Ontario is to develop a proposal to return surplus funds to Ontario consumers of MHSM in its proposed Wind Up Plan: For MHSM categories whose recovery is managed by Stewardship Ontario, the plan will set out rules governing a fee elimination during the wind up period; For MHSM categories that are managed through industry stewardship p

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