Brookside Park Hazardous Waste Collector Offers Safe Alternative to Putting Dangerous Substances in the Trash

More than 900 cars delivered 86,121 pounds of hazardous waste – about the total weight of three and a half empty school buses – during a recent hazardous waste collection event by Los Angeles hazardous waste contractor Veolia Environmental Services at Brookside Park in Pasadena.

The household hazardous waste collection was held on June 12, said Lawrence Johnson, household hazardous waste manager of the company, a division of Veolia North America.

Household waste deposited by Pasadena residents included electronic devices, latex and oil-based paints, and dangerous chemicals.

“It’s a safe alternative to throwing dangerous substances in the trash, because if you throw some of these chemicals – especially a lot of the dangerous, corrosive, reactive chemicals – if you throw these chemicals away in the trash and you have not properly disposed of them, they can damage our environment,” Johnson said.

“A lot of these chemicals have already found their way down to our water table. Our events are a safe alternative to throw new waste, because if they bring a lot of those chemicals to our event, we can properly dispose of them in a safe manner that’s in accordance with state law,” he said.

Veolia, on contract with Los Angeles County, helps customers in the industrial, commercial and governmental sectors safely manage waste and treat, recycle and dispose of hazardous and regulated wastes.

The company provides recycling services for turning waste into valuable resources, treatment and disposal of waste that cannot be recycled or reused as a resource, and hazardous waste management and transportation services.

As for the waste collected in Pasadena last June, Johnson said most of it will be recycled.

“For example, the fluorescent tubes, the lithium batteries, the paint, there are some waste streams that are incinerated,” he added. “And also we do landfill with some items as well, but before they landfill, they are neutralized to ensure that they’re not posing a danger to the environment.”

Johnson said the company, in cooperation with L.A. County and the City of Pasadena, hosts a hazardous waste collection at Brookside Park at least once a year.

Meanwhile the City of Pasadena program will host an e-waste collection event on August 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Brookside Park. For more information call (626) 744-7311.