Press Room
CONVENIENT DOOR-TO-DOOR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE (HHW) COLLECTION PROGRAM STARTS SEPTEMBER 1 IN EAST PALO ALTO
SAN CARLOS, CA - August 31, 2010 - The new Door-to-Door Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program starts September 1 for all residents in the City of East Palo Alto. Through the convenient new program, residents follow a simple process to safely and properly manage items such as paint, solvents, insecticides, cleaning products, fluorescent lamps, laptops, computers monitors, TVs and sharps.
To participate, residents can call 800-HHW-PKUP (800-449-7587) or send an email to hotline@curbsideinc.com to schedule a collection appointment with Curbside, Inc., the company contracted by RethinkWaste to provide the collection service. Curbside, Inc. will then send residents a collection kit through the mail that includes an instruction sheet, plastic bag for those items that must be bagged, labels and a tie for the bag. Curbside, Inc. will then send a collection vehicle on the day of the appointment and collect the items from the resident. The items must be prepared following the instructions provided and placed near the front door, garage or other area near the front of the home by 7 am on the scheduled day. Curbside, Inc. will not collect any containers that are leaking. Customers can visit the San Mateo County Environmental Health Household Hazardous Waste program website at www.smhealth.org/hhw for information on how to properly manage containers that are leaking or for other HHW information.
"This program is a long over due solution for East Palo Alto residents who currently have little or no local options to get rid of old paint, cleaning solvents and other harmful discarded products," said Kevin McCarthy, Executive Director of RethinkWaste."
This program is for all residents, including single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses and apartments, in East Palo Alto. Residents do not need to pay a separate fee for using the Door-to-Door HHW Collection Program, the costs are already included in their garbage rates. There are no limits on the number of appointments residents can schedule.
East Palo Alto is the latest to offer the convenient program. The Cities of Belmont, San Carlos and San Mateo, and the Town of Hillsborough launched the program on May 3, 2010 for their residents. Menlo Park and the West Bay Sanitary Program started the program August 2, 2010. These
communities have seen record levels of participation from their residents so far with 1,700 residents using the service in the first three months of service.
Other RethinkWaste Member Agencies are considering offering the new program to their residents in 2011.
RethinkWaste awarded Curbside a three-year contract for the services in October 2009. The Southern California-based company provides door-to-door services to over 40 jurisdictions across the country, including Orange County, Huntington Beach, Palm Springs and Denver, CO. Materials collected from the RethinkWaste service area are processed at Curbside's Richmond facility in the East Bay until they develop a new facility closer to San Mateo County for the RethinkWaste service area.
For more details on the program, visit www.RethinkWaste.org.
RethinkWaste:
Formed in 1982, RethinkWaste is a joint powers authority comprised of 12 Member Agencies (Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, the County of San Mateo and the West Bay Sanitary District) in San Mateo County and is a leader in implementing innovative waste reduction and recycling programs. RethinkWaste also owns and manages the Shoreway facility in San Carlos consisting of a permitted solid waste transfer station and a recycling processing facility. The Agency's legal name is the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA.) For more information on RethinkWaste, please visit our website at www.RethinkWaste.org.
For Further Information:
Monica Devincenzi, RethinkWaste
Phone: (650) 802-3509
Email: mdevincenzi@rethinkwaste.org
To participate, residents can call 800-HHW-PKUP (800-449-7587) or send an email to hotline@curbsideinc.com to schedule a collection appointment with Curbside, Inc., the company contracted by RethinkWaste to provide the collection service. Curbside, Inc. will then send residents a collection kit through the mail that includes an instruction sheet, plastic bag for those items that must be bagged, labels and a tie for the bag. Curbside, Inc. will then send a collection vehicle on the day of the appointment and collect the items from the resident. The items must be prepared following the instructions provided and placed near the front door, garage or other area near the front of the home by 7 am on the scheduled day. Curbside, Inc. will not collect any containers that are leaking. Customers can visit the San Mateo County Environmental Health Household Hazardous Waste program website at www.smhealth.org/hhw for information on how to properly manage containers that are leaking or for other HHW information.
"This program is a long over due solution for East Palo Alto residents who currently have little or no local options to get rid of old paint, cleaning solvents and other harmful discarded products," said Kevin McCarthy, Executive Director of RethinkWaste."
This program is for all residents, including single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses and apartments, in East Palo Alto. Residents do not need to pay a separate fee for using the Door-to-Door HHW Collection Program, the costs are already included in their garbage rates. There are no limits on the number of appointments residents can schedule.
East Palo Alto is the latest to offer the convenient program. The Cities of Belmont, San Carlos and San Mateo, and the Town of Hillsborough launched the program on May 3, 2010 for their residents. Menlo Park and the West Bay Sanitary Program started the program August 2, 2010. These
communities have seen record levels of participation from their residents so far with 1,700 residents using the service in the first three months of service.
Other RethinkWaste Member Agencies are considering offering the new program to their residents in 2011.
RethinkWaste awarded Curbside a three-year contract for the services in October 2009. The Southern California-based company provides door-to-door services to over 40 jurisdictions across the country, including Orange County, Huntington Beach, Palm Springs and Denver, CO. Materials collected from the RethinkWaste service area are processed at Curbside's Richmond facility in the East Bay until they develop a new facility closer to San Mateo County for the RethinkWaste service area.
For more details on the program, visit www.RethinkWaste.org.
RethinkWaste:
Formed in 1982, RethinkWaste is a joint powers authority comprised of 12 Member Agencies (Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, the County of San Mateo and the West Bay Sanitary District) in San Mateo County and is a leader in implementing innovative waste reduction and recycling programs. RethinkWaste also owns and manages the Shoreway facility in San Carlos consisting of a permitted solid waste transfer station and a recycling processing facility. The Agency's legal name is the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA.) For more information on RethinkWaste, please visit our website at www.RethinkWaste.org.
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For Further Information:
Monica Devincenzi, RethinkWaste
Phone: (650) 802-3509
Email: mdevincenzi@rethinkwaste.org