WNC Regional Air Quality Agency (WNCRAQA) and the Buncombe County Solid Waste Department will host a FREE gas can exchange program at the Buncombe County Landfill at 85 Panther Branch Road in Alexander. The exchange will coincide with the weekly Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days on Friday, August 3 and Friday, August 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., while supplies last.

Bring your old, EMPTY gas cans (that are not equipped with new spill and vent-proof features) to the event and exchange each one for a new, environmentally friendly, Briggs and Stratton gas can. The new cans are available in 2-gallon and 5-gallon sizes (there's a limit of 5 new cans per person). If there's fuel in the returned can, proper disposal is required and is available at the landfill for a fee of $2 cash for up to a gallon and $2 for each additional gallon.

This purpose of this project is to reduce air pollution emissions. The WNC Regional Air Quality Agency has entered into an agreement with a corporate donor to receive and exchange the lower emitting gas cans for the benefit of the citizens in our area.

Here's a video that shows how the new, environmentally friendly gas cans work.

Why a Gas Can Exchange?

Gas cans and the way we use them can harm Western North Carolina’s air quality and our health. Gas contains many harmful pollutants called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Spilled gas and gas vapors do not disappear; they end up in the water, in the soil, and in the air.

VOC emissions from gas cans occur from evaporation and spillage from overfilling fuel tanks. Emissions are also released through secondary vent holes and permeation through the container walls when transporting and storing the cans. Storing conventional gas cans may pose a threat to the health of those in the home. When older, conventional gas cans are stored in the basement or the garage, the toxic vapors emitted can harm those with respiratory ailments. In addition, VOCs can react with nitrogen oxides (NOx) from vehicles, industrial facilities, and other combustion sources to form ground-level ozone. Too much ground-level ozone can be harmful to our health and the environment.

Trading in an older, leaky gas can for a new, environmentally friendly can might not sound like a big deal on its own, but when you add up the impact of all of these trade-ins, the emissions reduction does make a difference.

According to the US EPA, older, traditional gas cans release about 8 pounds of VOCs through spills and evaporation each year. By using newer gas cans, which are made of materials that minimize permeation losses and include features such as spill-proof shut off valves and no secondary vent holes, harmful gasoline vapors can be reduced by at least 50 percent, or 4 pounds per can per year. With this gas can exchange program, we can reduce VOCs in Buncombe County by 3,384 pounds every year.

For more information, visit www.wncairquality.org or call WNCRAQA at 250-6777.