By Staff
July 31st, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Masks have become a cottage industry
The City of Burlington is offering free packs of disposable masks to assist people in complying with the temporary Mask By-law and to help contain the spread of COVID-19,
Burlington residents who need a mask can come to City Hall or a library branch listed above during operating hours to pick up a mask for themselves or their family.
A staff member located at the entrance doors can direct inquiring residents to take a mask home for use. We recommend that residents follow Public Health Guidelines and wash their re-useable cloth masks before and after use.
Locations and Hours
City Hall
426 Brant St. (use Elgin Street entrance)
Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Burlington Public Library – Central Branch
2331 New St.
Burlington Public Library – Aldershot Branch
550 Plains Rd. E.
Burlington Public Library – New Appleby
676 Appleby Line
Burlington Public Library – Tansley Wood Branch
1996 Itabashi Way
Burlington Public Library branches are open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information about masks and the temporary Mask By-law, go to burlington.ca/masks.
Accepting Donations
The City is also collecting re-useable cloth masks (preferred) and disposable face masks from anyone who would like to donate them. For those who wish, monetary donations are also accepted in the form of debit, e-transfer, credit card and cheque to help the City purchase more masks for residents. Cash is not being accepted at this time.
All donations are greatly appreciated and will help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• The City will issue a tax donation receipt for donations of $25 or more. In order to issue a donation receipt, include your name and full address
• Donations can be taken to Service Burlington in City Hall or mailed to City Hall, attention: Service Burlington, 426 Brant St., Burlington, ON, L7R 3Z6 with a note “Mask Donation” and your name and full address
• Monetary donations can be e-transferred to accounting@burlington.ca with a note in the memo for “Mask Donation”. Please note, that e-transfers can only be done if the donor’s bank allows automated deposits. If you can send the e-transfer without entering a password or question, then your bank allows automated deposits
• Businesses wanting to donate masks should ensure the masks are not branded with their logo.
Masks as a marketing tool, a fashion statement. I thought they were supposed to be about health not commerce. They would also not be the first fashion trend to be, shall we say, unfortunate.
My response to Councillors Facebook Comment when I suggested that perhaps the city should not have committed $10,000.00 towards masks and then (if you read the above information) are asking the public to make donations an businesses to donate masks with their logo.
The City of Brampton sent 3 disposable masks to every household in Brampton. People did not have to go get them. Perhaps a good place to distribute some masks would be at the bus terminal area on John Street?
” Shawna, I made this branding suggestion to a local business months ago. I indicated that this could be a great marketing tool and at the same time help out the community. I also told friends that masks would become a fashion statement, and this is exactly what is happening. Just about every store is selling fabric face masks.
My concern is two fold – 2,700 reusable masks while a good start definitely is not enough. The volunteer group that I was involved with provided over 3,000 fabric masks with fabric that was donated and sewers who provided their time to accomplish this promise.
As more information came forward we changed the design of our masks to include a way of tightening the mask at the nose area and changing the earpieces to be adjustable. Not all masks are created equal.
The masks to be effective have to be made of the proper fabric with at least 2 layers of fabric and if possible a pocket to place a filter. There needs to be a way of tightening the mask at the nose area to provide a proper fit as well as a way of adjusting the earpieces so that the mask does not gape. If the picture above is what the City has purchased I have to question the effectiveness of them.”