Spring is right around the corner. The season, known for new beginnings, makes it the perfect time to free your home of the clutter that has piled up over the past year. To help out with this annual activity, LA Sanitation’s SAFE Centers all across the city are ready to take all of your unwanted household hazardous waste.
So, what exactly is household hazardous waste? Think unwanted, used or leftover paint, dead batteries, burnt-out fluorescent bulbs, outdated cell phones and old medications. Placing these items into your trash is illegal and bad news for the environment. Here’s why. Once items like old laptops and used motor oil end up in landfills, they can leach toxins into our air, soil and groundwater. Those poisons create trouble for Earth and potential health risks for you and your family. And, with 256 million tons of hazardous waste being produced every year in the U.S., now is the time for all of us to get smart about spring cleaning.
Enter Los Angeles SAFE Centers – SAFE being shorthand for Solvents, Automotive, Flammables and Electronics. SAFE Centers allow you to dispose of your household hazardous waste in an earth-friendly way and completely free of charge. Here’s a checklist of the items you can drop off at your nearest SAFE Center:
- Electronics (including computers, TVs, stereos and cell phones)
- Automotive fluids (such as motor oil and anti-freeze)
- Oil filters
- Paint
- Pool and garden chemicals
- Batteries
- Network equipment and cables
- Cleaning products
- Aerosol cans
- All medicine except for controlled substances
For a more comprehensive list as well as instructions on how to prep these items for drop off at a SAFE Center, please visit LASAN’s SAFE Centers webpage. LASAN’s SAFE Centers are open every weekend, serve both LA City and County residents and are located throughout Los Angeles. Find your local SAFE Center and thanks for keeping spring cleaning SAFE!
