Team behind collecting, disposing Sonoma County’s household hazardous waste are skilled in science
Working hands-on with household hazardous waste — the term covers everything from used motor oil, pool chemicals and old buckets of paint, fluorescent bulbs and lead-acid auto batteries — is definitely a dirty job.
It can also be dangerous.
When certain chemicals, present in some household hazardous wastes, are combined or even placed near one another, they can form toxic gases, ignite or even explode. That’s why working with hazardous waste requires both specialized training and protective equipment.
Sonoma County residents Courtney Scott and Gary Holbrook are both involved with the county's year-round collection and reuse of household hazardous waste. They make no bones about why they've chosen this line of work.
"I know that I'm making a difference," said Scott, household hazardous waste program manager for Zero Waste Sonoma.
For Holbrook, InSite program manager at the Sonoma County Household Hazardous Waste Facility in Petaluma, it’s about helping the planet.
"I'm helping to preserve an existence for my kids and beyond. Not to mention the birds and bees, and the flowers and trees," he said.
A complex system of help
Zero Waste Sonoma operates an ambitious, multifaceted, collection system for household hazardous waste that makes it easy for residents to dispose of leftover household hazardous products. Much of what's collected can be reused or recycled. For example, motor oil is cleaned up, put into barrels or tanks and shipped out for reuse in the petroleum industry.
During fiscal year 2022-2023, the facility collected 1.2 million pounds of household hazardous waste. Of that, 71,457 pounds were reused and 606,812 pounds were recycled, including propane cylinders, motor oil, bulbs, household batteries, paint, fire extinguishers and auto batteries.
This complex system has a vast number of moving parts that include various governmental agencies and private companies. All these parts are coordinated and overseen by Zero Waste Sonoma, a joint powers authority that acts on behalf of the county's nine cities and unincorporated areas to help residents and businesses reduce, reuse, recycle and discard materials in a safe and environmentally responsible way.
The organization's household hazardous waste program is managed by Scott, who has worked in the environmental arena since graduating from Chico State in 2008.
Zero Waste Sonoma contracts with Clean Harbors, a nationwide provider of environmental services that include hazardous material management and disposal, to operate the Sonoma County Household Hazardous Waste Facility.
Holbrook, a Clean Harbors employee, oversees the day-to-day facility operations in Petaluma, doing everything from running a forklift to mixing chemicals to preparing a truckload of hazardous waste for shipment. A former member of United States Army Aviation, Holbrook holds a degree in chemistry from Southern State Community College in Ohio.
Paint is the top item at the facility
In an average week, approximately 339 residents drop off household hazardous waste at the county's facility in the bucolic northwestern hills of Petaluma. The site on Mecham Road is open for the free drop off every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m., except on some holidays.
The drive-thru process does not take long and is usually uneventful. The process is meant to be easy as easy as possible for county residents. Drivers never leave their vehicles and waste must be placed in the trunk or truck bed. After a brief check-in, a staff member removes the hazardous material, and the resident drives away.
At that point, the various hazardous materials are placed in designated areas within the facility.
Some items, such as paint, may have a quick turnaround here. If the cans look new enough and are at least half-full, they're brought to the outdoor reuse lockers, where contents are free for Sonoma County residents. When available, the lockers also offer recycled pool chemicals, household cleansers and other items.
"County residents can pick up any item in the reuse lockers for free," Scott said. "Paint is the number one item that we receive at the facility, and it's also the number one item we put out in the reuse area."
When paint doesn't meet reuse locker standards, it's bulked into 55-gallon drums to produce one of four colors: tan, white, gray and light green. The paint is then poured into five-gallon buckets, which are also free to Sonoma County residents.
"We really want jurisdictions like public works departments to take more advantage of that," Scott said. "It's great for graffiti abatement or painting warehouses inside and out."
Safety is always top priority
Materials that present greater hazardous risk are brought to hot zones where only staff members have entry. While working, all staff members — including those unloading waste from cars — are required to wear chemically resistant coveralls, steel-toed boots, impact-resistant safety glasses, and chemical/impact-resistant gloves.
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