Yuba-Sutter garbageman makes house calls for hazardous waste

When Virginia Piorkowski moved to her Live Oak home in 2000, she discovered a mouse problem. So she bought rat poison.

"It didn't quite get the job done," said Piorkowski, 87. "So I got a cat."

The feline got rid of the mice. But for the last 11 years, the poison stayed in her garage, and Piorkowski said she wanted it gone, but hadn't had the opportunity to get rid of it.

Problem solved after Monday morning, when she got a visit from a Recology Yuba-Sutter worker to take away the poison as well as some depleted batteries and a few other household hazardous waste items.

Under a pilot program, Recology is taking appointments from Yuba-Sutter residents who have old paint, batteries or other such waste and can't make it to the drop-off site for such materials in Yuba City.

Funded by a grant from CalRecycle, the program could become permanent if there's enough demand, said Maggie Johnson, Recology's environmental compliance and safety manager.

"It's hard to say how many people it's going to involve," Johnson said, adding the program is designed to help either housebound elderly folks or those who don't drive for whatever reason from putting hazardous waste in their regular bins for trash and recycling.

The grant will allow the company to do such pickups through June 2013.

However, not just anything can be picked up. When people make appointments, Johnson said, they have to submit a list of what materials they're getting rid of, subject to approval by Recology.

A list on Recology's website lists paint, pesticides, cleaning products and fluorescent tubes and bulbs as among the accepted items. Asbestos, tires, ammunition and explosives and electronic waste such as computers and TVs are not accepted.

At least for the pilot program, residents won't be charged for the visit, though they do have to be home at the time, Johnson said. "We try to develop a way for more convenience," she said.

Piorkowski, a widow, said she had a hard time making a visit to the facility during its regular hours on Saturdays, so making an appointment worked better for her.

"I think people should take advantage of it," she said. "It's gone, and I'm glad."

CONTACT reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4786.