Curbside recycling offered in Rossmoor for
harmful products
The door-to-door Universal Waste Collection Program is under way
in Rossmoor and is provided by Curbside, Inc., in partnership
with the Golden Rain Foundation.
This program makes it possible for all residents to recycle potentially
harmful products. Curbside, Inc. collects items that cannot
be placed in the trash or recycling bins such as aerosols,
batteries (alkaline, NICAD), fluorescent lamps, thermometers
and all electronics, such as computers and televisions.
Home pickup is not available for ammunition, medical waste,
nuclear/radioactive waste, explosives or commercial chemicals.
Residents can call 1-800-449-7587 to schedule the collection of
waste directly from their homes. Participant names and
information will be requested. Prior to collection, residents
will be sent a special household hazardous waste kit
with further instructions, and a bag to help hold
the materials safely and securely.
Residents will not be required to be at home when materials
are collected, unless in-home assistance with gathering
and packing materials is required.
Prescription Drop off
A prescription drug drop-off box is located at Gateway between
the Library and the Oak Room. The yellow box is only for prescriptions
and over-the-counter medicine and vitamins in pill or capsule form.
The box is yellow, tamper-proof and is identified as a prescription
drop-off for medications no longer needed.
Liquid medications and needles cannot be put in the box.
Pills can be left in their original prescription bottles.
In an effort to assist residents in disposing of expired and unwanted
medicines in an environmentally safe way, the Golden Rain Foundation
has enlisted the help of Curbside,
Inc. in creating this drop-off collection box.
Curbside, Inc. retrieves the medications in a timely manner and burns it.
Do not dispose of medicines into the toilet or sink. Medicines
in wastewater cannot be removed by treatment plants,
and directly enter the environment.
Sharps Disposal
Used medical needles (sharps) can be disposed of in the red box at Gateway.
The box is located in the lobby by the main parking lot near the Library
and the Oak Room. It is next to the drug disposal box.
Both boxes are provided by Curbside Recycling. Only dispose of sharps
in a sealed container designed for needles. Follow the instructions on the box.
Curbside will make sure that the sharps are disposed of properly.
Sharps cannot be placed in household garbage.
Helpful hints for recycling
The following products can be recycled in the green recycling
containers within the garbage enclosures:
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Cardboard and paper
• Glass bottles and jars
• Aluminum cans and foil
• Plastic bottles
• Tin cans
Corporation Yard/Dumpster Site Recycling
All eight of the recycling bins in the Corporation Yard hold only
recyclable material –there’s no household garbage in these bins.
The “green- waste-only” bins carry
100 percent of recyclable material. This material includes grass cuttings
and tree and shrub trimmings from around Rossmoor.
Wood products, such as plywood siding, decking and tree logs,
go into the two “wood-recycle-only” bins. The city requirement is
that these bins have at least 50 percent of recyclable material.
Construction and demolition material goes into the final three bins.
The requirement is that 90 percent of what goes into the construction
material bins has to be recyclable. Dirt cannot go into these bins
because it can contaminate the recyclables.
In addition, Mutual Operations has another bin outside
the corporation yard where
all co-op appliances and water heaters are recycled.
To ensure that only the proper recyclables go into the bins,
Mutual Operations has an employee on site during hours of operation.
He monitors every person going through the corporation yard gate,
and keeps a log of everything that is dumped,
including the waste from contractors.
It has to be monitored because Rossmoor has to prove to Walnut Creek
that it is doing at least 50 percent recycling-permitted jobs.
This recycling requirement does not apply to the household garbage
dumped by residents in their neighborhoods.
As a result of this extensive monitoring, residents are restricted as to what
they can drop off at the site. No household garbage is allowed—
it will contaminate the recyclables. Household garbage should only be placed
in the Dumpsters in the entries or in the single-family garbage bins.
Mattresses and electronics are not allowed. Mattresses have to be taken
to an outside dump site, such as Acme Landfill in Martinez.
Electronics, such as computers and printers, can be hauled away
by calling Curbside Recycling at 1-800-449-7587.
Some pieces of furniture can be dumped in the construction and
demolition bins, but an entire manor of furniture cannot be left at
the yard -- there is simply no room in the Dumpsters. If an entire household
is cleaned out, that material has to be taken to an outside dump site.
The corporation yard/Dumpster site is located at the entrance to
Mutual Operations on Rockview Drive. It is open Monday through Saturday
from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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