FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 3, 2012
DEP-SPONSORED AMMUNITION COLLECTION EVENT AIMS FOR SAFETY, ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
~DEP, SWIX and Kevin’s Guns
and Sporting Goods partner to dispose of more than 622 pounds of old or
unwanted ammunition~
 Nearly 300 pounds of old or unwanted shotgun shells were collected Saturday during an event co-sponsored by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
TALLAHASSEE –The
Florida Department of Environmental Protection, along with the Southern
Waste Information eXchange, Inc., the State Fire Marshal’s Office and Kevin’s
Guns and Sporting Goods collected more than 600 pounds of old or unwanted
ammunition Saturday at an ammunition collection event in Tallahassee. This marked the eighth year the Department has
co-sponsored the event.
“Improper
disposal of ammunition has potential environmental, health and safety risks,”
said Jorge Caspary, Director of the Department’s Division of Waste Management. “This event
made it easy for hunters and other residents to safely remove potentially dangerous
ammunition from their homes and prevent it from ending up in Florida’s
landfills.”
The proper
disposal of old or unwanted ammunition can save lives by preventing it from
getting into the hands of young children, and can also help protect the
environment by keeping them out of landfills.
Gene Jones, Executive Director of SWIX,
first proposed holding a pilot collection event in 2005 in Tallahassee, after
he was unable to find a place to properly and safely dispose of some old
ammunition that he had in his home. Tallahassee has hosted these events for eight years.
“I realized that a mechanism is needed
where people can dispose of old and unwanted ammunition in an appropriate
manner,” said Jones. “We have experienced a lot of success over the last eight
years, collecting nearly 6,600 pounds of old and/or unwanted ammunition just in Tallahassee alone. We were pleased to be able to provide this
collection event with funding assistance from DEP.”
Items
that were collected from 38 participants include: 288 pounds of shotgun shells, 255 pounds of
bullets, 65 pounds of flares,10 pounds of gun powder and black powder and four pounds of fireworks and other ammunition supplies.
For more information about the Ammunition Collection Events,
contact Gene Jones at SWIX at 850-386-6280 or email gene@swix.ws.
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