Council Considers Waste Disposal Plan

A proposal to open the city’s first household hazardous waste disposal center will come before the City Council tonight.

Such a center would give residents a convenient location to get rid of such common waste products as paint cans, motor oil and pesticides, city officials said.

“We are talking about the kind of hazardous waste you have under the kitchen sink and in the garage,” said Robert A. Graham, Irvine’s director of public works.

If approved by the council, the disposal center would be funded and operated by the county. Irvine would provide space for the facility on Sand Canyon Avenue.

The center would be similar to other county waste disposal centers in Anaheim and San Juan Capistrano, Graham said. Residents can bring their materials to the centers, where the cans and bottle are held in storage before being transported for disposal.

The county is expected to spend about $200,000 to build a shed at the corporation yard and buy the storage bins.

Until now, Irvine has sponsored household waste recycling days twice a year--at a total city cost of $160,000.