The Town of Yucca Valley has a contract with the county to provide two onside collection events for household hazardous waste. The event for 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19, but the town was able to hold its first event in 2021 last April. Managing editor Tami Roleff says the event was called a great success…
About 25 staff from San Bernardino County Fire Department showed up April 24 with large box trucks and plastic sheeting in the north parking lot of the Yucca Valley Community Center. The workers set up collection stations for paint and solvents, used oil and filters, electronic waste, batteries, used needles, and more. The town reported that 230 cars, with residents from throughout the Morongo Basin, dropped off more than 19,000 pounds of electronic and household hazardous waste during the 4-hour collection event. In exchange, residents were given oil containers, oil buckets, rags, funnels, and sharps containers, for future use.
Of the 230 participants, the majority came from Yucca Valley with 156 local residents attending the event. Below are the locations from the other participants traveled from:
o Yucca Valley: 156 (68%)
o Joshua Tree: 32 (14%)
o Morongo Valley: 11 (5%)
o 29 Palms: 11 (5%)
o Landers: 8 (3%)
o Pioneertown: 8 (3%)
o Johnson Valley: 3 (1%)
o Yucaipa: 1 (.4%)
| Amounts (lbs.) | Waste | Amounts (lbs.) | |
| Flammable | 1,464 | Antifreeze | 213 |
| Oil Based Paint | 978 | Motor Oil | 2,550 |
| Toxics | 250 | Used Oil Filters | 76 |
| Corrosive Acids | 54 | Fluorescent Tubes | 154 |
| Corrosive Bases | 44 | Household Batteries | 556 |
| Oxidizers | 31 | Lead Acid Batteries | 1,490 |
| Latex Paint | 6,107 | CRTs/Misc E-waste | 3,673 |
| Aerosols | 339 | Cooking Oil | 192 |
| Pharmaceuticals | 42 | Sharps | 55 |
| Roofing Tar | 207 | Materials Exchange | 655 |
| Fertilizers | 25 | Compressed Gas Cylinder | 56 |
| PCBs (ballast) | 0 | Fire Extinguishers | 42 |
| Total | 19,253 |
