Thousands bring harmful waste to safe place

Hazardous waste is collected at College of the Canyons on Saturday. Nikolas Samuels/The Signal
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Thousands of community members are expected to make the most out of Earth Day and  properly throw away hazardous waste at COC on Saturday.

“Santa Clarita residents can dispose of all hazardous materials such as paint, antifreeze, oils, batteries and electronics,” said Martin Zemlock, supervising engineer with Los Angeles County Sanitation.

According to Zemlock, most hazardous materials are cleaned up and put back on the shelves.

“It is very important to dispose of hazardous material properly,” Zemlock said. “If you let it get into the landfills overtime it will get into the water and harm people.”

Kim and Jean Puckett have lived in Newhall since 1980. They didn’t mind waiting in the lines for disposal because it was the right thing to do.

The Pucketts have a daughter with Down syndrome and have always been motivated by people who volunteer and give their time for others. So events like this inspire the Pucketts to take an extra step toward bettering the neighborhood.

“We want to do what we can to help keep our community clean,” Jean Puckett said.

Roger Haring, a Santa Clarita resident, sees the benefit in participating in an event geared towards bettering the environment

“I think the more we recycle the more sustainable we will be,” Haring said.

According to Zemlock, workers are expecting to fill four to five semi-truck trailers with hazardous materials, each one weighing close to 80,000 pounds.

Because of the growth of Santa Clarita, three hazardous material collections are held each year.

The event is a joint effort between Los Angeles County Sanitation and Los Angeles County Public Works.

Hazardous waste is collected at College of the Canyons on Saturday. Nikolas Samuels/The Signal

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