Trash Day : 2,400 Dispose of Hazardous Household Wastes at L. A.-Sponsored Roundup in Granada Hills

In what officials said may have been the largest such event in the state, more than 2,400 people disposed of thousands of gallons of paint, motor oil and hazardous household chemicals at a city of Los Angeles-sponsored roundup in Granada Hills on Saturday.

Motorists poured into the parking lot of the Coast Savings & Loan administration building during the 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. roundup to get rid of the toxic materials, said Los Angeles Department of Public Works officials.

The previous reported record was set in San Jose, when about 2,300 people dropped off household waste at a roundup, they said.

“We didn’t expect this many people, but everything has gone smoothly,” said Chuck Ellis, spokesman for the public works department.

Although figures on the amount of waste collected will not be available for several days, the tally will be higher than for the previous seven roundups this year at other locations in Los Angeles, Ellis said.

More than 14,000 gallons of paint, 12,000 gallons of motor oil and 500 car batteries have been collected and recycled in previous roundups, officials said. In addition, almost 3,000 55-gallon drums were packed with aerosols, cleaners and other chemicals and placed in landfills for safe disposal, they said.

Pilot Program

The roundup is part of a $2.5-million pilot program called “Don’t Let L. A. Go to Waste,” which was set up by the City Council to educate citizens on how to identify, store and dispose of hazardous household waste.

Officials hope that the program will prompt a permanent hazardous household waste-gathering plan.

“We anticipate that the council will establish this because the roundups have gone way beyond our expectations,” said Edward A. Avila, the city’s Board of Public Works president. “The public seems really willing to participate.”

Common household hazardous materials are drain and window cleaners, spot removers and furniture polishes.

Most of the people who brought their waste to Saturday’s roundup lived within five miles of the Coast Savings building, officials said. The participants packed the waste into boxes that were placed in their trunks or on truck beds.

Workers in white overalls placed the waste in orderly piles.

City officials are encouraging citizens not to throw away such waste with regular garbage, which is transported to landfills unequipped to handle hazardous waste.

They said household toxic waste could seep into the soil and pollute ground water.

When collected, officials said, the waste materials are separated into similar types and packed into drums, which then are lined with protective material so that chemicals cannot leak.

Two more household hazardous waste roundups are due later this year at locations yet to be determined, officials said.