During the March 7 ceremony to open the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center located at EDCO Recycling and Transfer in Signal Hill, L.A. County Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe (far right) praised the innovation that can result when public entities and the private sector collaborate.
Staff Writer
The result of a public/private partnership, the new Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center located at EDCO Recycling and Transfer in Signal Hill will now be open beginning Saturday, March 9 to serve as a one-stop venue for the public to safely and properly dispose of household hazardous, universal and electronic wastes free of charge.
The City of Long Beach, the City of Signal Hill, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County and EDCO Disposal jointly planned and built the facility, which is located at 2755 California Ave.
EDCO hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour for public officials and media on the morning of Thursday, March 7.
Steve South, president and chief executive officer of EDCO, opened Thursday’s ceremony by referring to the family-owned/operated company as an environmental-solution provider. He said they opened in April of 2012 and has since been incrementally rolling out its operations in phases.
After introducing the company’s executives, South presented L.A. County Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe to the audience. “Being in kind of a unique place, we were able to bring together a number of partners to put this…together in terms of the design and the funding for it on a sustainable basis for the benefit of Los Angeles County residents,” South said, “and when you speak of Los Angeles County, and certainly when you speak here in Signal Hill, you’re speaking of the leadership of Supervisor Don Knabe.”
Knabe called Thursday “a great day for residents, for the county, as well as the environment” since many residents typically have a difficult time finding the means to dispose of harmful waste products. “We need to find new, innovative ways to do things, so this center, thank you to EDCO and all our partners, is an example of innovation and collaboration between a public entity and the private sector,” Knabe said. “I want to again applaud EDCO for being a great corporate citizen.”
Steve South, president and chief executive officer of EDCO, during the March 7 ribbon-cutting ceremony for his company's new Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center
“When EDCO first came to [the City] with the idea for a trash-transfer station, it’s not exactly the most popular use for a city to entertain,” Hansen said. “It makes people nervous. It makes people worry, ‘What is that going to mean for our community?’ But we knew what a good partner EDCO was, and we knew that whatever they did would be of the highest quality… and we knew that if we were going to do something like this, that they would be the partner we want to do it with. And, since they opened, we haven’t had a single complaint. I think it’s just been an absolute win-win for us and for the community.”
The center will be open the second Saturday of each month, from 9am to 2pm. Previously, residents often had to wait six months to a year for a household hazardous waste round-up in their vicinity, according to EDCO.
