Point Reyes Light - November 21, 2002

County's 'bulky-waste' pickup a debacle

By Andrew Pridgen

County government’s five-day program to remove old refrigerators, washing machines, and other "bulky-waste" from West Marin households by this week had become a dangerous debacle.

County government agreed to pay garbage-pickup company Waste Management to remove heavy trash that cannot be easily disposed of now that the West Marin Sanitary Landfill is closed.

Supervisor Steve Kinsey has been receiving criticism throughout West Marin for the county’s not creating a dropoff site for trash. The problem is that ever since the landfill in Point Reyes Station closed, scofflaws unwilling to drive all the way to the closest landfill, which is north of Novato, have been dumping appliances along coastal roadsides.

So Kinsey put together a program intended to collect all the tires, mattresses, furniture, and big appliances that have been gathering dust for four years in West Marin basements. Waste Management was supposed to pickup this bulky trash on residents’ normal garbage-pickup days from Nov. 11 to 15.

Residents (except those in Bolinas and Stinson Beach) were supposed to place these items at the curb beside their garbage cans, and Waste Management would haul them away at no charge to the customers. But as Kinsey’s critics had warned, West Marin residents have far more large items to get rid of than he was acknowledging.

A week after the pickups were supposed to end, refrigerators, old toilets, and wornout televisions were still lined up along many West Marin streets, making roadsides more cluttered than before the program.

Children could suffocate

Because children can become locked inside them and suffocate, abandoned refrigerators are of particular concern to school officials, firefighters, the Department of Public Works, and sheriff’s deputies.

On Wednesday, Lt. Rich Ginnodo, commander of the West Marin Sheriff’s Substation, directed his officers to notify him of any areas where such waste has not been collected.

As deputies noted, although the law requires people to remove locks or hinges from refrigerators they discard, many residents did not on the mistaken assumption their refrigerators were going to be hauled away immediately.

Nonetheless, Waste Management by this week had given up on systematically picking up such waste, saying that it had removed most of it. Any household that has been overlooked is supposed to call spokesman Ken Foley at 707 586-7759 or fax him at 707 586-8228, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

‘Glitches’ acknowledged

Foley meanwhile acknowledged there have been some "glitches" in the initial pickups, noting that garbage crews worked on Saturday, as well as weekdays, to get the waste cleared.

The garbage spokesman on Tuesday said bulky trash has been picked up at all but a handful of homes and that a supervisor was spot-checking for overlooked debris. He stressed that any resident who hasn’t received a pickup needs to notify Waste Management quickly.

Foley could not explain why some households have not yet received service but speculated that a few may be putting out more than their share. "People want to do something responsibly about the problem, and from what we’ve seen the program has been a success," said Foley. "However, there are always people out there that try to take advantage," he said.

Waiting for statistics

Ken Levin, a spokesman from the West Marin Waste Advisory Group, said the county will look closely at Waste Management’s statistics after the collection ends. Statistics could show whether regular bulky-waste pickups or a landfill is needed here, he added.

Levin also speculated that much of the waste that routinely ends up on West Marin may come from other parts of the county. "I also see many trucks coming from the east with carloads of junk," he said. "Where they’re going, who knows? There’s really no way to curtail illegal dumping."

Meanwhile Kinsey aide David Escobar said the supervisor is eagerly waiting for Waste Management to report its findings, hoping there has been a positive response from West Marin residents, even from those who’ve had to wait a few extra days.

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