Keep Check on Toxics

New attitudes and hard work are doing a lot to keep Ventura County from being buried under its own garbage even in these times of relative prosperity. As staff writer Gary Polakovic reports in today’s edition of The Times, recycling has caught on across the county.

Now it’s time for a few more steps toward an efficient and sustainable future. For starters, more homeowners should learn the merits of composting their lawn trimmings and yard waste rather than simply trundling them to the curb to be trucked away. And the county should proceed with its efforts to provide safe ways for homeowners to dispose of toxic household chemicals without polluting the land or water.

When Thousand Oaks converted to a new schedule of trash collection last fall, some homeowners complained that they couldn’t cope with yard waste pickup only on alternate weeks--a system that works fine in many areas of the county. In response, the city this month began weekly collection.

Although it is good for a city to adjust its programs to fit the needs of its residents, we encourage those who are harvesting bumper crops of grass clippings to explore ways to lighten the load. They might consider gradually converting their vast swaths of thirsty, fast-growing turf to smaller patches punctuated by drought-tolerant landscaping--a strategy even some enlightened golf courses are adopting in this era of expensive water and concerns over fertilizer pollution.

Other options include using mulching lawn mowers, which chop up the grass and scatter it in place, or composting clippings with kitchen scraps and fireplace ashes to produce fertile material for future mulching and gardening. Garden clubs and libraries are loaded with information about these wise ways to ease the demand on local landfills and water supplies.

The city of Ventura has failed to persuade county officials to find someplace other than a former fire station on north Ventura Avenue right next to the city’s main water treatment plant to locate its toxic-materials collection center for residents of Ojai, Santa Paula, Fillmore and the unincorporated areas of the county. We acknowledge the city’s concerns but believe it is urgent for such a center to open as soon as possible. It has been months since residents of these areas have had a safe, legal way to dispose of old paint, motor oil, garden chemicals and other household toxics. Our landfills, rivers and oceans are paying the price as residents shrug and toss out such hazardous waste with their trash.

We urge the county to use extra care and monitoring at this location to ensure that city officials’ nightmares do not come true.