Hazardous household waste disposal

Trying to make sense of regulations can be hazardous to your patience. Being green in one's everyday affairs always involves a little extra work. Separating garbage, carpooling, and all the other small things we might do to preserve our environment require some sacrifice, but they are simple tasks that are well-publicized as the right things to do. Therefore, when it comes to things we must do, or in fact are legally obligated to do, one would hope that these activities would be broadly communicated to the public and relatively easy to comply with.

Nonetheless, when it comes to safely disposing of household hazardous waste (HHW), local residents face some perverse disincentives to do the right thing. Despite the tireless efforts of some state and local officials, only the well-informed and particularly conscientious are likely willing to figure out what to do with their HHWs and take the time to do it.

HHW is defined as any product labeled toxic, poison, corrosive, flammable, combustible, or irritant that is to be disposed of by households, hotels, camping grounds, or any other residential setting. Obvious examples of HHWs include motor oil, oil-based paint, polishes, and drain cleaners. Less obvious examples are televisions, VCRs, and nail polish.

According to Melinda Barrett, head of the Environmental Affairs Section of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, officials are able to roughly estimate the amount of HHWs not properly disposed of by subtracting the amount recycled from the amount sold in a given area. The remainder has either made it into landfills or sits in garages or closets waiting for disposal. For example, only an estimated 50 percent of motor oil sold makes its way to the proper collection center.

Once collected, 50 percent of HHW can be recycled, 40 percent can be used as supplemental fuel, 5 percent is reused through a materials exchange, and 5 percent is incinerated.

Funding for collection centers and collection events comes from both state and local governments. The California Integrated Waste Management Board allocates grants to local governments to assist them with HHW collection. In the current fiscal year, the board is distributing $4.3 million across the state, including $1 million throughout Los Angeles County and almost $500,000 throughout Orange County. Los Angeles County itself invests $5-$6 million per year on HHW collection and education while Orange County spends $2.7 million.

In Orange County, 4.5 million pounds of HHW are collected per year at four permanent collection sites, but no one really knows precisely how much HHW makes it into landfills or drains. According to Orange County Integrated Waste Management Public information officer Linda Hagthrop, the collection sites were carefully positioned so that Orange County residents would never have too far to travel to drop off their HHW. The collection sites are open to Orange County residents from 9am to 1pm, Tuesday through Saturday. There is also one off-site event per year on a Saturday morning.

In Los Angeles County, a handful of cities have set up permanent collection sites (see below). Otherwise, residents of Los Angeles County must locate a collection event in their vicinity and travel to it on the scheduled Saturday morning.

Fortunately, both counties offer many locations for recycling used motor oil. Also, some auto parts retailers will accept used motor oil.

Although Los Angeles County, Orange County, and individual city governments have attempted to create a convenient HHW disposal system for their residents, one is left wondering how many non-environmentally minded residents are really researching where to take their HHW and then spending over an hour on a Saturday morning to dispose of them. For example, for this author who lives in Venice, the most convenient event scheduled is in Beverly Hills in October and would require about 1.5 hours of travel time in addition to processing the HHW.

Insufficient awareness and a lack of easily accessible drop-off sites appear to be contributing to a large proportion of HHW ending up in landfills or down drains. Scott Cassel, the founder and director of the Product Stewardship Institute at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, believes that consumers do not have ample opportunity to properly turn in their HHWs. 'There is a significant problem with the education of consumers and the opportunity for consumers to act responsibly,' he said.

Cassel founded PSI in order to encourage manufacturers and retailers to assist in the safe disposal of products they place in the stream of commerce. He believes that local governments simply do not have the resources to tackle an undertaking as odious as collecting and processing HHWs from millions of residents and that the private sector must start contributing. While little if any reliable data exists on the proportion of HHWs currently making it to collection centers, Cassel says, 'The assumption is that it is very small.'

Currently, PSI has 30 states signed up as members of the institute along with 25 local governments and agencies, including Santa Monica. The PSI works towards getting together stakeholders such as manufacturers, retailers, and local governments to develop integrated, nationwide approaches to HHW collection.

Looming over the current local efforts for HHW collection is a tsunami of old computers and CRTs expected to crest around 2010. Estimates for the cost of disposal of the impending crush of lead and mercury laden e-waste exceed $10 billion.

Where to

Residents of Los Angeles County may call 888-CLEAN-LA or visit http://ladpw.org/epd/hhw/ in order to locate collection events or permanent sites in their area or to ask any questions about HHW. Glendale, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, and Malibu all have permanent sites.

Residents of Orange County may call 714-834-6752 or visit http://www.oclandfills.com in order to locate the nearest collection site or to ask any questions about HHW.