County Pushes Toxic Waste Collections

In a concerted effort to combat the danger of toxic materials, San Diego County workers have picked up potentially hazardous substances at 140 households since May 1 --materials that otherwise might have been poured down drains, tossed in garbage cans or dumped in landfills.

The county initiated the program after trash collectors increasingly complained about handling dangerous materials that had been dumped in garbage cans. In one instance, three trash collectors suffered chemical burns when a garbage truck crushed some bottles of photo developer and the liquid splashed on them.

Paints and paint thinners account for 80% to 85% of the hazardous material the county has collected, said Gary Stephany, chief of environmental health protection for the county. Workers also have picked up pesticides, acids and solutions to unclog plumbing, he said.

“If one person dumps hazardous material down the drain, it’s probably not a problem,” he said. “You’ve got 700,000 households in the county. If everyone was to dump hazardous materials down the sewers or into landfills, we could have a problem.”

Once hazardous materials enter the sewage system, they flow into the ocean along with the treated sewage and could result in environmental damage, Stephany said. Hazardous materials also may prevent a sewage treatment plant from operating because the chemicals will destroy the bacteria used to treat sewage, he said.

So far, 277 people have called the county to ask what to do about dangerous materials they have around the house, Stephany said.

Often, hazardous materials such as paint can be recycled or used by some other group, he said.

“Church groups, thespians who need paint for backdrops, people who want to paint an old shed and don’t care about the color, will use old paint. Or sometimes a painting company will take it back if there is enough,” he said.

If the hazardous material cannot be used or recycled, it can be shipped by a licensed contractor to either of two landfills north of Los Angeles, said Larry Aker, who heads the county’s hazardous material management program.