Solid Waste Forum Showcases Local Projects

WHITTIER, Calif., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Managing products in closed loop systems to eliminate waste and reduce costs will be the overarching issue of a meeting that will connect Greater Los Angeles community leaders with experts in waste reduction and recycling. The Future of Solid Waste Management Forum will be held on January 23 at the Los Angeles County Sanitation District in Whittier, 1955 Workman Mill Road. The forum starts at 9:15 a.m. and will include a tour of the Puente Hills Landfill, scheduled to close in 2013, and the adjacent Material Recovery Facility (MRF).

By July 1, 2012, mandatory commercial recycling will be implemented across California, which will greatly increase the need for a strong local strategy on solid waste processing. The legislation, AB 341, will have a great impact on Los Angeles County.

The forum's keynote speaker, Caroll Mortensen, the Director of CalRecycle, will provide an update of the organization's programs and discuss the plans for California's future material recovery systems.

Forum discussions will include local waste management projects and strategies including waste by rail, conversion technologies and producer responsibility. Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director of California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC), will update participants on a pilot project for household lamp and battery collection in the San Gabriel Valley.

The project was organized by the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) and funded by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). A focus-group study at the onset of this project determined only 59% of San Gabriel Valley residents knew batteries contained toxins, and also revealed that less than 45% knew some lamps contain hazardous material, many continued to throw both in the trash.

Since April 2011, the project has collected over 200 fluorescent lamps and 5,000 pounds of batteries.

Call2Recycle, a national battery stewardship organization funded by rechargeable battery producers, paid for battery recycling costs.  The collection locations are located throughout the San Gabriel Valley at: www.sgvcog.org/batteryrecycling.

The fluorescent lamp recycling drive was hosted by SGVCOG, CPSC and Southern California Edison. Consumers exchanged used lamps and tubes for new efficient toxin-free ones.

For more information about the forum contact Mayor Sam Pedroza's offices (526) 908-4288 x2310. For more about the household battery-recycling project contact Heidi Sanborn, CPSC Executive Director: (916) 480-9010, www.calpsc.org.  For more information about CalRecycle go to www.calrecycle.ca.gov.

SOURCE California Product Stewardship Council