Spring Into A Clean Home and Yard

Spring is here! A season known for its warmer days and fresh beginnings. Spring is also the season for cleaning, decluttering and organizing your home and yard. And, while it may seem like a daunting task, LA Sanitation & Environment is here to help.  Here’s how:

Cut The Clutter – No spring cleaning job is complete without waste hauls. Set time aside to walk through your home looking for items that you plan to recycle, throw away, and donate. If you are having a hard time deciding what to remove, remember the golden rule of decluttering: get rid of anything that you haven’t used in a year. Large unwanted items can be disposed of by using LA Sanitation & Environment’s Bulky Item Pickup Service. Call (800) 773-2489 or go online and fill out a Service Request to schedule a pick up.

Too Toxic To Trash – As you are cleaning out your home, you may come across items like dead batteries, burnt-out fluorescent bulbs, old cosmetics, unused medications and home-generated SHARPs. These items are considered toxic waste (or household hazardous waste) and when they end up in landfills, they can leach toxins into our air, soil, and groundwater. You can help prevent this from happening by properly disposing of these items at a collection center. LA Sanitation & Environment has S.A.F.E. Centers throughout LA that will take and properly dispose of unwanted household hazardous waste.

Elevate Your E-Waste – Did you recently upgrade your devices? Your old electronic devices are considered electronic waste, or e-waste. These often carry toxic metals, like cadmium and lead, that can contaminate landfills and end up in our water supply when devices are not disposed of properly. To help prevent this, while doing your spring cleaning, be sure to to elevate your e-waste by taking it to your local S.A.F.E. Center. CalRecycle provides a statewide e-waste collection center search feature.

So, happy spring and happy cleaning! If you have any questions or spring cleaning tips that you would like to share with us, e-mail us at lastormwater@lacity.org.