One million pounds of hazardous waste has been collected over the past three years from households throughout the Peninsula, according to RethinkWaste, a joint powers authority comprised of San Mateo County cities and the WEST Bay Sanitary District.
Since May 2010, residents have safely disposed of hazardous household waste such as paint, solvents, insecticides, cleaning products and electronics through RethinkWaste’s door-to-door waste collection.
“This is an exciting milestone demonstrating hwo much of this material is stored out there in residents’ garages and other storage places,” said RethinkWaste Executive Director Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy said RethinkWaste’s largest challenge will be continuing to collect vast amounts of consumer waste and to push for more laws to fund collection programs.
The door-to-door household hazardous waste program gives residents in participating cities throughout San Mateo County a simple process to safely dispose of hazardous liquids and electronics such as computers and televisions.
Residents can participate by calling (800) HHW-PKUP or by sending an email to atyourdoor@wm.com to schedule a collection appointment with collection partner At Your Door. The company then sends residents a collection kit in the mail that includes instructions, plastic bags and labels to prepare the items for collection.
Laura Dixon, Bay City News
