By Heather Ramsay---Find us a place to take used oil or return our eco-fees, said Councillor Greg Martin at a recent Queen Charlotte council meeting.
As a member of the Islands Solid Waste Administrative Committee, he wants a resolution to the problem of what to do with used oil on the south end of the islands.
At present, used oil is collected at TLC Automotive in Masset and at the landfill site in Port Clements, but southern islanders have no options available.
Mr. Martin says the agency known as the BC Used Oil Management Association collects the fees and is tasked with enlisting collection sites for the province.
He wants them to provide the service or refund the fees to south end consumers.
Waste operations supervisor for the Regional District Tim DesChamp says part of the problem is those who agree to provide a collection site for the used oil are not compensated, but those who collect from the collection site are paid for the work.
Kirk Thorgeirson at TLC Automotive in Masset says he provides a collection site with no compensation, because "it's better than having them dump it in the ditch."
He was under the impression there is legislation in place requiring those who sell the oil to take it back, but when told that law does not exist anymore, he said he would collect it anyway.
"The object is not to have it in the environment," he says.
He says North Arm Transportation, which supplies fuel to the north end, provides two 2000 litre cubicals to collect the oil and they pick it up and barge it off.
He said Fast Fuels on the south end is the same kind of company, so he doesn't know why they don't offer the same service.
When the Observer called Fast Fuels, we were told the company does not collect used oil because by law they do not have to.