HUNTINGTON BEACH : Campaign Planned on Toxic Items, Trash

A campaign to warn homeowners against putting illegal hazardous household materials in residential trash will start next week in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley.

Beginning Monday, workers at Rainbow Disposal Co. Inc. will put warning labels on trash cans at 60,000 homes in the two cities. The decals, similar in appearance to bumper stickers, will warn that it’s illegal to put used motor oil, paint, household cleaning supplies, pesticides, batteries and pool supplies in curbside trash containers.

The warning stickers also offer an alternative, telling residents that they should bring the forbidden wastes for safe disposal to the household hazardous materials disposal site at Rainbow Disposal Co. Inc., 17121 Nichols St., Huntington Beach.

The center is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays except on holidays and rainy days.

Huntington Beach Fire Chief Michael Dolder, whose department imposes fines on offenders ranging into the thousands of dollars, praised the program at a press conference Thursday at Rainbow Disposal offices. “People don’t want to break the law but they don’t know what to do with the material,” he said.

Penalties for putting household hazardous waste in the trash range from $500 to $10,000 and can include jail sentences.

Rainbow Disposal spokesman Ron Shenkman said workers have detected an increasing amount of the dangerous wastes in the curbside containers in recent months.

Shenkman said that Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center and the Shell Oil Co. are helping to underwrite costs of the program, which are about $7,000.

The Orange County Integrated Waste Management Agency and the hazardous materials division of the Orange County Fire Department are also contributing funds, Shenkman said.

The warning labels also include the telephone number for the Hazardous Materials Hotline: (714) 665-6970.