ORANGE COUNTY, Feb. 6, 2006 - Residents of Orange County looking for alternatives for disposing of household "universal waste" such as batteries, electronics, old cell phones or fluorescent light tubes once it becomes illegal to place these items in trashcans on Feb. 9 have a number of local options, according to Waste Management of Orange County.

As of Feb. 9, all Californians must dispose of items deemed "universal waste" by the California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) at designated recycling centers or household hazardous waste collection centers. Products like this, which have low levels of hazardous metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium, can potentially contaminate soil and groundwater, so they cannot be disposed of in the trash and subsequently deposited into landfills.

The DTSC announced the new rules applicable to households and small businesses on Jan. 23.

"We understand that the deadline imposed by the state is very quick for not only our customers, but also service providers and local governments," said David Ross, Senior District Manager of Waste Management of Orange County. "A number of questions also remain about what constitutes universal waste and how it should be handled. However, we are doing what we can to assist our customers and let them know there are a number of local sites available where people can take universal waste to dispose of it safely."

Among the items designated as universal waste as of Feb. 9 are:

• Common batteries – AA, AAA, C cells, D cells and button batteries (e.g., hearing aid batteries).
• Fluorescent tubes and bulbs and other mercury-containing lamps – fluorescent light tubes and bulbs, high intensity discharge (HID), metal halide, sodium and neon bulbs.
• Thermostats – old-style with the sealed glass "tilt switch," which contains mercury (the newer electronic kind are not included).
• Electronic devices – televisions and computer monitors (which were already prohibited from household trash), computers, printers, VCRs, cell phones, telephones, radios and microwave ovens.

The following universal waste items have been banned from household disposal for some time:

• Electrical switches and relays – mercury switches that can be found in some chest freezers, pre-1972 washing machines, sump pumps, electric space heaters, clothes irons, silent light switches, automobile hood and trunk lights, and ABS brakes.
• Pilot light sensors – mercury-containing switches found in some gas appliances such as stoves, ovens, clothes dryers, water heaters, furnaces and space heaters.
• Mercury gauges – some gauges, such as barometers, manometers, blood pressure and vacuum gauges, contain mercury.
• Novelties – examples include greeting cards that play music when opened, athletic shoes (made before 1997) with flashing lights in soles and mercury maze games.
• Mercury thermometers – mercury thermometers typically contain about a half-gram of mercury. Many health clinics, pharmacies and doctor's offices have thermometer exchange programs that will give you a new mercury-free fever thermometer in exchange for your old one.
• Non-empty aerosol cans that contain hazardous materials – many products in aerosol cans are toxic and many aerosol cans contain flammables, like butane, as propellants for products like paint. If your aerosol can is labeled with words like TOXIC or FLAMMABLE, don't put it in the trash unless it is completely empty.

For additional information about universal waste, including how to properly dispose of it, visit http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/UniversalWaste/index.cfm. Residents may also call the Waste Evaluation help line at (916) 322-7676 for additional assistance in determining what items qualify as universal waste.

The following local facilities, operated by the County of Orange, will accept universal waste and other hazardous waste from Orange County households (no businesses). Operating hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information can be obtained at (714) 834-6752 or www.oclandfills.com.

• Anaheim Regional Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center (HHWCC)
  1071 N. Blue Gum Street
  Anaheim, CA
  (located between the 91 and 57 freeways on the corner of La Palma and Blue Gum)
• Huntington Beach Regional HHWCC
  17121 Nichols Street
  Huntington Beach, CA
  (located between Beach Blvd. and Gothard St. off Warner Ave. next to Rainbow Recycling and Disposal - use Gate 6)
• Irvine Regional HHWCC
  6411 Oak Canyon
  Irvine, CA
  (located off of Sand Canyon between the 5 and 405 freeways, use the same driveway as Bark Park)
• San Juan Capistrano Regional HHWCC - Prima Deshecha Landfill
  32250 La Pata Avenue
  San Juan Capistrano, CA
  (from the 5 freeway, exit Ortega Highway, go east to La Pata and turn right; or Antonio Parkway south, cross Ortega Highway, continue on La Pata Road to the landfill entrance)

Two cities serviced by Waste Management, Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo, have curbside service for household hazardous waste retrieval. Pick up can be arranged through Curbside, Inc., by calling 1-800-HHW-PKUP (449-7587).

Waste Management of Orange County also accepts electronic waste such as televisions or monitors at its Sunset Environmental Transfer Station and Orange Transfer Station. Sunset is located at 16122 Construction Circle West in Irvine. The facility is open Monday-Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, 5:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Orange Transfer Station is located at 2050 N. Glassell in Orange. The facility is open Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. All other hazardous or universal waste should be taken to one of the county collection centers noted above.

Additional information about local disposal options is available at http://www.earth911.org or http://ccelearn.csus.edu/mercurylamp/content/resources5.htm.

Waste Management, Inc. is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. For more information about recycling, log onto www.wm.com.

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