Toxic Household Waste Causing Crisis, Group Says
Nearly 20 million gallons of motor oil, 7 million gallons of automobile antifreeze and 100 million batteries are dumped each year into Los Angeles County streets, gutters and trash cans, creating an “unseen environmental crisis,” according to research released Thursday by an environmental group.
Heal the Bay officials said at a Santa Monica news conference that so-called household hazardous waste can be washed into storm drains that carry it to the ocean or buried in landfills where it leaches into drinking water deposits.
The organization calculated the amounts of waste by subtracting the amount recycled each year from the amount purchased from retailers. Heal the Bay officials advocated increased recycling and a switch to alternative products that are less toxic.
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