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Who would have possibly imagined that a volunteer opportunity
like this actually existed? The Yolo County dump actually accepts
volunteers to work during the Household Hazardous Waste collection days.
It's not often that you get to spend the whole day at the dump, so I jumped
at the chance when I saw it.
The Household Hazardous Waste program is actually very
interesting. Six times a year, residents of Yolo County have the opportunity
to drop off any hazardous materials at the dump, at no cost. So all of
those old cans of paint, jugs of gasoline, or gardening chemicals you
have lying around your garage can be disposed of in a proper manner -
and for free. This is a program designed to keep people from dumping these
hazardous chemicals in the garbage, in the sewer, or in some empty lot.
What does it take to drop off my hazardous waste?
- First, make sure you are going to the dump on the right day. Check
the
InsideWoodland calendar to see when the next event is.
- Make sure your hazardous waste falls into one of the categories that
they accept (also on the calendar)
- Make it to the dump sometime between 9:00 and 2:00
- Answer a few quick questions about where you are from (hint:
this is for Yolo County)
- Drive up, pop your trunk, and have someone else unload your car
That's it- really easy. On the day I was there, about 320 cars came by and
dropped stuff off. The city with the most hazardous waste? Davis.
Cars dropping off hazardous waste - picking up oil collection containers.
What's it like if you volunteer at the hazardous waste collection day?
Well - interestingly nobody volunteering with me was from Davis.
Hmm...I see a pattern, they dump hazardous waste, but
they don't want to volunteer to clean it up. I guess their "hug the
earth" reputation doesn't carry over into the real world. But enough
about those nature-haters, let's find out what the good people
from Woodland were doing.
| 8:10 am |
Show up at the dump. Think to yourself "This is the first
day of the rest of my life. And I am going to spend it at the dump."
Be proud. |
| 8:30 |
Hang up the signs in front of the dump. Announcing to the world that you
are ready for their refuse. |
| 8:45 |
Have a volunteer team meeting. This includes juice and donuts. The
day is starting out right. They also gave us t-shirts (to keep) and bright
yellow vests (to borrow). Meet and greet the other volunteers, and the
coordinator Sarah. We learn about the different jobs available. Find out
that this is all very low-key, and could be fun.
Sarah (the coordinator) says: "Umm...I would feel bad about asking
any of you volunteers to do anything gross, that is why I have my sister
here with me. She will help me clean off some chairs." |
| 9:00 |
Stand at my post at the front gate - it is my job to direct people to
the right area. This is interesting because I get to talk to just about
everybody who is coming to the dump. Some of them are fairly chatty. To
a lot of people, going to the dump is a real adventure - they pack up the
car with the wife, kids, and the family dog. At least 1/3 of the cars have
dogs in them, the most popular being yellow labs. |
| 9:30 |
Went back to the break-room to use the restroom, get some more juice,
and another donut (buttermilk). Thought about bringing a donut to
my greeting partner, but figured that I would probably just eat it
on the way out to the gate anyway. |
| 10:30 |
I'm finally grossed out. A lady pulls up, and says "oh, I was
driving by, and I saw your sign. Do you take medical waste?"
Me: "No" Her: "Oh,
well, I've got this can here with some infectious waste, I guess
I'll just have to take it to the hospital next week."
Okay- it's bad enough that she pointed to the can, which was more
like a bucket full of 'infectious medical waste'.
But the idea that she had it in the car with her, and just happened
to be 'driving by' was really foul. I wondered where she got it
anyway, and I wondered what I would do if I had a bucket full of
infectious medical waste. I wondered if my dog would eat it if he
had the chance.... |
Soon after that, I figured it was time for me to move
on to a less hazardous job.
So I left the front gate, and moved on to be a surveyor.
My co-volunteer at the front gate was Lance, student
from Woodland High, he is volunteering because
he needs the community service credits for school. His favorite
two hobbies are 'surfing the web' and 'playing video games'. (Hey!
Me too!) Lance did not eat any donuts that morning, because he had
a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich and milk for breakfast. Plus,
I didn't bring him one when I had a chance. (His sandwich consisted
of: White bread, strawberry jelly, and crunchy peanut butter - I
didn't ask about the milk)
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One of my co-surveyors - Ian, was Sarah's brother
in law. I don't think he had to do any gross jobs - those were reserved
for his wife.
I asked him what he thought about volunteering at the dump with his wife
and sister in law. He didn't seem to have a problem with it - I think
he was in it for the free food. |
Sarah is the one with the red hair- she is the Yolo
County Waste Reduction Coordinator. She has a degree in Environmental
something or other. They were handing out these oil collection containers
and funnels for free.
| 11:00 |
Getting into the groove of surveying. I had to ask
about 100 people the same 4 questions:
- What city are you from?
- How many households do you represent?
- How did you hear about this event?
- How many times do you come here each year?
I was really hoping to see some young hotties cruise up, so I could
add two more questions:
- What's your phone number?
- Can I call you sometime?
Unfortunately, the young hotties did not materialize. Evidently
January is not a big month for hotties out at the dump. I'm thinking
of volunteering again in August. (Bikini weather!) |
| 11:45 |
Lunch is served. They brought out burritos from Dos Coyotes. I got
a steak burrito, and a can of lemon-lime soda (Kirkland). They also
had chips and salsa, but I thought the chips would be too hard to
eat with gloves on, so I skipped on the chips. |
| 12:30 |
A guy pulls up in a Volvo station wagon. I start my 'interview'
and ask him "What city are you from?" He looks at me, and
says "I'm driving a Volvo station wagon...what city do you think
I'm from?" Of course I mark down 'Davis' and move on. |
| 1:00 |
It becomes evident that even though we have hundreds of 'customers',
they can be put into just a few categories:
- Old people cleaning out their garage, and getting rid of 40
year old cans of paint
- Thin, well groomed people from Davis who scrounged around the
house to find chemicals, so they could take their kids with them
to show them what great stewards of the environment they are.
These people seemed desperate "Umm..will you take a bottle
of Windex? I sprayed it in my eye once, and it really hurt."
- People from Woodland who say "oh...I do this 3 or 4 times
a year" (Do they live on a Superfund site?)
- People from Knights Landing, who see a line of cars and are
confused, thinking it must be Sonic Burger. But luckily, they've
got a car full of hazardous substances anyway, so it wasn't a
wasted trip.
|
| 2:00 |
That's it - event over. No clean-up (we're at the dump, the standards
are pretty low). Head home. |
Logo on front of my free T-shirt. Hey, I got juice,
donuts, a burrito, soda, and a T-shirt.
Not a bad deal for just standing out in the cold.
While spending a few hours at the dump may have been enjoyable,
it was really a learning experience. The parade of cars ended up dumping
a mountain of hazardous waste. A bunch of guys were loading this into
drums, and containers to move it off-site for final disposal. They were
dressed in some serious looking hazmat suits - because these are dangerous
chemicals.
I realized that getting rid of your hazardous waste is not
really the answer to this problem. The real answer is to stop
buying all of this stuff!
I saw tons of cars with bags of fertilizer, cans of insecticide,
herbicide and other garden chemicals. Is all of this necessary? Could
you have done without the 9 types of specialty bug spray?
Cars came in with cans and cans of paint. Some cans looked
barely used or not even opened. You may think of it as only wasting $20
on a can of paint. But the costs go much further than that. Your one gallon
of paint may not be a big deal- but multiply that by the 20 houses on
your street - then the 30 streets in your neighborhood, your whole city.
This ends up being a LOT of extra paint!
If you have the hazardous stuff, by all means get rid of
it properly. But next time you are at Home Depot, looking to buy some
paint thinner, bug spray, or liquid drain cleaner, ask yourself if you
really need it. Really - it all adds up.
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From: everyday reader - Date: |
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As always, an excellent story! It has everything: laughter, tears, regret, redemption, and a lesson at the end. A real eye-opener! Keep up the good work!
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about Woodland California.
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