COUNTYWIDE : Grand Jury Calls for More Waste Centers

To better control the disposal of household hazardous waste, the Orange County Grand Jury has called for county officials to open more collection centers and do a better job of educating the public about the hazardous waste program.

“Right now we’re only getting about 2% of the hazardous waste,” said Robert Flewelling, chairman of the grand jury’s environmental committee. “If we don’t deal with this now, we’re going to have to down the road when there will be a need to get all hazardous waste.”

The county operates collection centers in Anaheim, Huntington Beach and San Juan Capistrano. A fourth center in Irvine is being planned, said Jan Goss, recycling manager for the county’s Integrated Waste Management Division. The $5-million program is supported by dumping fees charged at county landfills, she said.

In an advisory report, the grand jury found that the San Juan Capistrano center, operated at the Prima Deshecha landfill, is too remote for most South County residents. That center averages about 16 waste deliveries a day, well below the average of the other centers--Anaheim gets about 58 deliveries and Huntington Beach about 61.

The Capistrano site was selected when the program started in 1985 for lack of any other suitable site in the area, Goss said. She said ways to increase the use of that site are being explored.

In addition to building more conveniently located collection centers, Flewelling said there is a need to educate the public on how to properly dispose of household hazardous waste. Used motor oil and latex paint account for more than 50% of the waste brought to the centers, he said.

It costs the county $399 to dispose of a 55-gallon drum of latex paint, but $300 to recycle it, Goss said. That translates to $5.45 per gallon to recycle and $7.25 per gallon for disposal.

Goss and Flewelling both advocate a change in the use of household products that produce hazardous waste as one way to cut down on the need for more collection centers.

“It’s not a simple matter of taking care of the hazardous waste we have now, but changing our lifestyle to produce less waste,” Flewelling said.