Landfills to Take Household Toxic Waste

South Bay residents who have longed to get rid of containers of paint thinner and pesticides that tend to clutter bathrooms and garages will soon have a convenient way to dispose of such hazardous household materials.

A pilot program approved recently by the County Board of Supervisors and the county Sanitation Districts will allow residents to take hazardous waste to specified locations around the county, including the Palos Verdes Landfill.

The program, which will begin in late July, calls for private contractors licensed to handle hazardous material to take the waste to certified dumps outside the county, said Kieran Bergin, a division engineer for the Sanitation Districts.

Hazardous chemicals stored improperly around the home can be harmful to small children, Bergin said. And materials such as acid from car batteries and metal plating chemicals can also be harmful to sewerage workers if put into sewers, he said.

Under the program, five sites in the county will be open one day a week to accept the waste: Palos Verdes Landfill, 26401 Crenshaw Blvd., Rolling Hills Estates; Calabasas Landfill, Puente Hills Landfill, Spadra Landfill and the South Gate Transfer Station.

Bergin said the hazardous waste will not be put into those county landfills, which are only being used as collection sites.

The private contractors handling the waste would either incinerate the material or treat it and bury it. Materials such as used motor oil will be treated and prepared for resale, he said. Paint, however, will not be accepted because the private contractors would be overwhelmed by the volume, and the program’s budget could not afford the cost.