Grant Being Sought for Oil Pickup Program

The City Council has authorized the Glendale Fire Department to apply for a one-year, $60,000 grant to continue a program to pick up used motor oil at homes.

Fire officials initiated the Curbside Collection Program in April after receiving a $75,000 grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

The seed money allowed the Fire Department to hire a full-time environmental services worker and to pay for a truck to collect used motor oil.

To maintain funding for 1994, fire officials are applying for another $60,000 grant from the waste management board. Council members voted 4 to 0 Tuesday in favor of the application, which is due Friday.

Councilman Sheldon S. Baker was absent because of illness.

“Clearly it’s a way to help keep our city more environmentally pure and to help people dispose conveniently of hazardous materials,” Councilwoman Eileen Givens said Wednesday. “It’s always nice to have state money do a program that’s going to benefit the city. . . . It’s an opportunity we want to grab.

“What we need to do is to encourage more and more people to participate in these programs.”

Since April, fire officials have collected more than 5,000 gallons of used oil from 400 residents. Household collection is on Thursdays by appointment only. An average of 14 households are visited weekly.

Officials have also raised $1,000 from an incentive program in which the state offers 16 cents per gallon, or 4 cents per quart, for the recyclable product.

The oil is usually taken to the city’s environmental management center before being transported to the Evergreen Environmental Services recycling plant in Carson, officials said.

For appointments or more information, contact fire officials at (818) 548-4030.