Long Beach residents now have more opportunities to dispose of hazardous and electronic waste with the addition of collection days at the Environmental Collection Center (Collection Center), located at 2755 California Ave. in Signal Hill.
Beginning Saturday, Aug. 26, the Collection Center will increase its collection days to the fourth Saturdays of each month, operating from 9am to 2pm. Residents can dispose of household hazardous waste such as motor oil, cleaners, fertilizers, paint, batteries, electronic waste and used tires for free.
“Expanding the Collection Center makes it easier for residents to manage the types of waste that cannot go into household trash due to environmental and human health risks,” said Diko Melkonian, manager of the Public Works Environmental Services Bureau. “This helps keep our neighborhoods, waterways and beaches cleaner and safer for all who live, work, play and do business in Long Beach.”
Prior to the opening of the Collection Center, the City held household hazardous waste drop-off events twice a year. In 2013, the Collection Center opened to make safe disposal more available for residents through household hazardous waste drop-off events that occurred every second Saturday of each month. In 2016, over 7,200 residents dropped off 712,000 pounds of hazardous waste and electronics, a 54-percent increase over its first year, according to city officials.
Although the Collection Center will be closed the fourth Saturday in November and December, the new schedule will add 10 more waste drop-off events annually.
Items accepted at the second and fourth Saturday events include:
• Cleaners, bleach, drain openers, floor and furniture polish, aerosols
• Paint, thinners, solvents, furniture strippers
• Household batteries, fluorescent bulbs and tubes, mercury-containing devices
• Garden pesticides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers, pool chemicals
• Used motor oil and filters, automotive fluids, car batteries
• Home-generated medicines and sharps
• Electronic waste, such as computers, televisions and cell phones
• Used tires (nine tires maximum per person)
The center does not accept business-generated waste, ammunition, explosives, biological waste, or bulky items such as furniture, refrigerators or washing machines.
The following are helpful tips for preparing and safely transporting household hazardous waste:
• Place products in cardboard boxes so that containers do not spill during transport.
• Be prepared to leave your containers and boxes at the Collection Center.
• Label materials that are not in their original containers.
• Make sure containers are not leaking and lids are tightly sealed.
• Load the boxes of materials that are prepared for drop-off into your trunk.
• At the ECC, trained personnel will ask you to remain in your car while they remove your household hazardous waste and electronic waste from your trunk.
The Collection Center was funded and planned with a public-private partnership that included the City of Long Beach, City of Signal Hill, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County and EDCO Disposal.
Source: City of LB
