2-Hour Wait to Say Goodby to Old Paint : Toxic Roundup Branded a Success

San Fernando Valley residents gathered in a 1 1/2-mile-long line Saturday to turn in old bug spray, leftover paint and unwanted crankcase oil in Los Angeles’ first roundup of hazardous household wastes.

About 2,300 carloads of toxic materials--more than twice the amount expected--were collected during six hours in a parking lot behind the city’s West Valley Regional Library in Reseda.

“This is phenomenal, incredible, every adjective you can think of,” said Edward J. Avila, president of the city’s Board of Public Works, as tons of unwanted cans, jugs and bottles piled up.

“People are willing to wait an hour-and-a-half in line rather than dump this material in the trash.”

Some residents waited even longer, but there were few complaints when they finally reached the head of the line and their wastes were separated into three huge piles--oils, paints and a mixture of cleaners, poisons and other assorted chemicals.

Although it was the first roundup by the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County sponsored a similar program last summer at the Calabasas Landfill in Agoura.

“I waited in line for two hours, but I’d do it again if I had to,” said Woodland Hills resident Elsie Demas, who turned in a small carton that contained bottles of old nail polish.

Glen Schafer, who filled his car trunk with old paint cans and pesticide bottles, said he also felt it was worth the wait to get rid of a 20-year collection of chemicals from the garage of his Reseda home.

Tarzana residents James Weddle and Gary Johns delivered three large drums of old gasoline, waste paint and solvents for their 75-year-old next-door neighbor.

“The green barrel, the one with the solvents, was there when he moved in 35 years ago. He never knew what to do with it,” Weddle said.

Two private firms will recycle the 3,500 gallons of crankcase oil and the uncounted thousands of cans of old paint turned in Saturday, said Reva Fabrikant, an environmental engineer for the city’s Bureau of Sanitation. The paint will probably be bought back at a discount by the city and used to cover graffiti, she said.

The city will recycle old batteries turned in Saturday and keep the profit, she said.

Cost of Success

But the unexpected volume of material collected will probably cause the budgeted $66,000 cost of Saturday’s toxic waste roundup to double, Fabrikant said.

The turnout is likely to cause the City Council to consider creation of a permanent collection program, said Anthony W. Harris, a spokesman for the city Department of Public Works. He said seven other regional roundups are scheduled for this year, including one Aug. 19 in Granada Hills and another Nov. 18 in Sun Valley.

This year’s toxic collections were proposed by West Valley City Councilwoman Joy Picus, who won a $700,000 commitment from the city’s environmental trust fund for the eight collection days around the city.

“It’s evident that there’s an increased awareness of the need to recycle,” said Myrlie Evers, a commissioner on the city’s Board of Public Works. “This turnout sends a clear message to City Hall that people are concerned enough to wait in a long line if they have to safely dispose of these materials.”

All of the people who were in line by the scheduled end of the roundup at 3 p.m. were allowed to turn in their toxic wastes. “One lady was crying when I told her it was too late. So I let her in. I couldn’t turn her away,” said Leon Ainer, a city truck operator who helped direct traffic at the collection site.

The toxic roundup required city officials to close the library parking lot, although the library remained open--and busy. Branch librarian Iris Speed, who turned in several boxes of her own old paint cans, said her staff anticipated the parking lot closure and did not require any books to be returned by borrowers Saturday.

About 70 city workers and volunteers and 50 professional waste handlers worked without breaks during the six-hour collection to keep the line of cars moving through the parking lot drop-off point.

“These are unselfish people,” volunteer Lil Younger, former West Hills Community Organization president, said of those in line. “They care about our environment and our future generations.”