On November 9, Invermere Fire Rescue became a registered collection site for used or expired smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms under the B.C. Smoke and CO Alarm Stewardship Plan.

This plan has been developed by Product Care Association to meet the requirements of the B.C. Recycling Regulation. There will be no charge for the residents to drop off these products.

There are four types of accepted products. These are:

Smoke alarms (ionization and photoelectric types)

CO alarms

Combination smoke and CO alarms

Combination heat detectors and smoke alarms

This alarm recycle program does not accept devices that perform only the detection function and not the alarm function. These types of units are typically installed in commercial buildings and are outside the scope of this program.

This program does not accept control boxes or fire bells associated with these products, or other types of alarms and detectors (natural gas alarms, propane detectors, etc.)

Collection sites cannot accept smoke alarms that show signs of severe physical damage or tampering.

For more information on this program, please contact the Recycling Council of B.C. at 1-800-732-9253 or visit one of the following websites: rcbc.bc.ca, productcare.org or alarmrecycle.ca.

Generally smoke alarms are only good for 10 years and CO alarms are good for seven years. When you turned your clocks back, did you change your alarm batteries?