MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Toxic Dump on Wheels : Hazmobile unit makes it easy to dispose of household toxins

When Los Angeles residents complained about traffic jams and long waits at popular one-day roundups for hazardous waste collection, employees of the city’s Bureau of Sanitation and their counterparts at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works responded. Residents can now make schedule appointments to bring their discarded paint, motor oil, garden poison, oven cleaner and other toxic substances to a truck--the Hazmobile--and trailers that stop for up to 10 days at locations throughout the city. The year-old program adds a measure of convenience for residents who are responsible for proper storage and disposal of household chemicals but live in a county with only one permanent disposal site.

Frustration and Relief

“You get all kinds of information saying you can’t throw this away, you can’t throw that away, so it builds up in your garage and you think, ‘What am I supposed to do with this stuff?’ So it’s great that the city gives you an opportunity to legally dispose of it.

“I just drove over, pulled up and I didn’t have to get out of the car. I gave myself an hour; it took six minutes. I thought it was going to be a big hassle, but the city makes it easy after you take the first step and call for an appointment.” --Saralee Antrim-Saizan, who dropped off hazardous waste materials at Exposition Park after learning about the hazmobile event from a city announcement mailed to her Westchester home.

HOW MUCH, HOW MANY

Hazmobile sites in 1994: 20 in ‘95: 24 Number of car appointments scheduled: 14,352

Average waste collected per vehicle: 88 pounds

Total collected: 1.1 million pounds

WHERE WASTE GOES

Nearly all of the household hazardous waste brought to the Hazmobile has a secondary use. For example, oil-based paints are blended for fuel used to produce cement, used motor oil is refined and lead from batteries is recycled. After initial sorting at the Hazmobile site, further sorting and treatment takes place at a hazardous waste facility in Chula Vista. Only 7% of the Hazmobile waste ends up in landfills.

HOW TO DO IT

Schedule an appointment by calling (800) 988-6942 or (800) 552-5218 and receive confirmation of drive-through time in the mail.

Put a sturdy box filled with carefully sealed and packed household hazardous waste in your car truck and bring material to Hazmobile site.

Remain in your vehicle while workers remove toxic load and sort materials for reuse, recycling and disposal.

Researched by CATHERINE GOTTLIEB / Los Angeles Times