COUNTYWIDE : Hazardous Waste to Be Disposed Of Free

Ventura County residents will have a rare opportunity to legally dispose of household hazardous waste at the Ojai Anti-Litter Station on Saturday.

Pesticides, weed killer, oven cleaner, pool chemicals, solvents, oil- and water-based paints, paint thinners and other household caustic and volatile substances will be accepted without fees from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the waste collection center at California 150 and Old Baldwin Road.

Disposing of such hazardous substances in trash bins is illegal and can pollute water supplies, said Kelly White, environmental manager for the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, which is funding the waste collection.

The sanitation district will spend about $125,000 on the event, she said. About 40 district employees will be at the site, including about 10 chemists who will test and categorize substances.

Attendants will unload car trunks. Non-recyclable wastes will be sent for burial at the Kettleman Hills toxic waste dump in Kings County, White said. Wastes brought to the Anti-Litter Station should be in their original containers and not be mixed with other substances, White said. Hazardous waste from businesses, radioactive wastes and explosives will not be accepted.

The district plans to have household hazardous-waste collection days about twice a year in various parts of Ventura County, but there will not be another one in Ojai Valley for at least two years, White said.

For information, call the Ventura Regional Sanitation District at 658-4630.