The Foothills landfill was closed for a few hours Thursday morning over concern some hazardous waste may have been dropped off at the site.
The landfill was reopened shortly after 11 a.m. after it was determined the material posed no significant risk.
"In this case, we were notified by an organization of the slim possibility that hazardous waste may have been inadvertently included with regular waste, and possibly taken to the landfill," Fraser-Fort George Regional District external relations manager Renee McCloskey said.
"The safety of our staff, contractors and the public is always our primary concern so acting with an abundance of caution we temporarily closed the landfill while we assessed the situation and ultimately determined the risk to be minimal so we reopened a few hours later."
According to the Ministry of Environment, hazardous waste can be defined as both as anything that's corrosive, ignitable, infectious, reactive and toxic or pose harm human health or the environment in a subtle manner over long periods of time.
They can range from paints, oils and solvents to acids, heavy metal-containing sludges and pesticides.
