Smoke Alarms
Apparently we are the first household in West Los Angeles ever to attempt the legal disposal of a smoke alarm.
As you know, the ionization models contain a minute amount of radioactive material, and therefore should not be put out with regular trash. The label on the back of our worn-out detector said we should dispose of it by returning it to the company from which it had been purchased, but since that company no longer carries hardware, it refused to accept it.
I called my local Sanitation Department, who referred me to 74 WASTE, a special household hazardous-waste service, which it turned out does not operate in our part of town. They suggested I call the Department of Public Works for a referral. After several days of research, Public Works decided there was no way to dispose of our smoke detector except to put it out with the regular trash.
Why are our government agencies haranguing us to dispose of wastes safely if they can’t provide the means?
DONALD BLANKENSHIP
BARBARA BLANKENSHIP
Los Angeles
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