In an effort to raise more awareness of household hazardous waste (HHW) across Santa Monica, Council members approved as part of its Tuesday consent calendar a resolution authorizing City Hall to apply for $50,000 in grant money from the State of California.
The application was submitted March 21.
If awarded, the California Dept. of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, will fund City Hall’s HHW Grant Program to assist with outreach and education about hazardous waste items within the household.
“CalRecycle offers the … HHW Grant Program to assist local governments in implementing safe HHW programs, which may include public education, source reduction, reuse, recycling, and load checking and collection components,” City staff stated. “Grant funding … would enhance existing community education and outreach associated with the household hazardous waste collection program.”
According to City staff, an HHW facility currently operates at the City Yards near Cloverfield and the Santa Monica Freeway. The facility offers door-to-door home collection for residents who want to dispose HHW from their homes.
CalRecycle is offering this grant for the first time in several years, City staff stated. The funding is both for public outreach and to “help local governments establish or expand HHW collection programs.”
The approved resolution allows City Hall to apply for HHW related grants for the next five years.
All California cities, counties, and local agencies with direct responsibility for HHW management are eligible to apply.
“The application would focus on outreach efforts such as direct delivery newspaper mailers and Seascape inserts to provide information on safe handling practices for hazardous materials, toxics use reduction, and materials reuse,” City staff stated.
City staff continued: “The City has distributed similar mailers in the past which have proved highly effective in engaging the community. In both instances, after distributing the direct mailers and Seascape inserts, the number of participants in the HHW Home Collection Program doubled compared to previous months. Grant funds would be used to increase the number of mailers to four per year.”
Beyond public outreach, the grant application would also allow City Hall to provide an “interactive community workshop using local artists and resources.”
Collaboration between City Hall and a local artist already in the works, the workshop would be an annual event at the Ocean Park community arts festival and focus on reuse.
CalRecycle will announce grant awards in April, City staff stated.
Meanwhile, the HHW facility is open the first Saturday of every month from 9 am to 2 pm. The Home Collection program is available on an unlimited appointment basis Monday through Friday.
