Easy as One Ammunition Collection Makes Environmental Stewardship Easy

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Easy As One initiative, along with the Southern Waste Information eXchange, Inc. (SWIX), the State Fire Marshal’s Office and Kevin’s Guns and Sporting Goods today collected more than 645 pounds of old or unwanted ammunition at an ammunitions collection event in Tallahassee.

“Improper disposal of ammunition has potential environmental, health and safety risks,” said Mary Jean Yon, Director of DEP’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 lead and other contaminants from seeping into the groundwater.

Tallahassee has hosted events for five years with DEP as co-sponsor. SWIX held a pilot collection event in 2005, after Gene Jones, Executive Director of SWIX, was unable to find a place to properly and safely dispose of some old ammunition that he had in his home.

“I realized that a mechanism is needed where people can dispose of old and unwanted ammunition in an appropriate manner,” Jones said. “We have experienced a lot of success over the last four years and are pleased to partner with DEP to provide this collection event to Tallahassee residents.”

Items that were collected from 58 participants included: 202 pounds of shotgun shells, 368 pounds of bullets, 40 pounds of flares, and 36 pounds of gun powder and black powder.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the state’s principal environmental agency, created to protect, conserve and manage Florida’s environment and natural resources. DEP enforces federal and state environmental laws, protects Florida’s air and water quality, cleans up pollution, regulates solid waste management, promotes pollution prevention and acquires environmentally-sensitive lands for preservation. The agency also maintains a statewide system of parks, trails and aquatic preserves.

For more information on solid waste disposal and recycling, please visit DEP’s website at www.dep.state.fl.us/waste. For more information about the Ammunitions Collection Events, contact SWIX at 1-800-441-7949 or e-mail info@swix.ws.

About Easy As One
Easy As One - Ordinary actions. Extraordinary results. is an environmental awareness initiative by DEP that highlights easy actions each one of us can take to make sustainable practices part of our daily lives at home, at school, at work and at play. As the lead agency in state government for environmental management and stewardship, DEP encourages citizens to adopt green habits that protect Florida’s air and water quality, conserve water and reduce waste. A sustainable Florida depends on the collective efforts of citizens, groups, businesses, industry and government. For more information, visit www.dep.state.fl.us/EasyAsOne.