COSTA MESA : Hazardous Waste Plan to Cost $12,000

The City Council will spend $12,000 to hire Americlean Environmental Services to draft a hazardous waste management plan for all city departments.

At its Tuesday meeting, the council unanimously voted to hire the firm to determine what kind of hazardous waste city agencies generate and to come up with an efficient way of disposing it.

Costa Mesa resident Sid Soffer objected to the expenditure, saying it is “a waste of money,” but council members said the company is expert in the waste disposal field and would also assume liability for improper dumping, something the city was looking for.

“Expertise in this area is critical,” said Bill Morris, director of public services. “Keeping up to date with all the different hazardous materials and techniques for disposing them is our responsibility and something we have to do.”

Morris said the city staff does not have the knowledge to deal with all the materials used by the city. Presently, each department contracts for its own handling and disposal of waste, but Morris believes consolidating the contract will save money.

The city generates a number of hazardous materials, including oil, hydraulic fluid, used oil filters, non-chlorinated solvents, shop rags, 85% diesel fuel, asphalt mixture, lead, lead filters and photographic chemicals, according to a study conducted by Americlean.

Though the $12,000 was not budgeted for the 1994-95 fiscal year, Morris suggested funding the expenditure with $9,020 from the public services division, $2,500 from street maintenance and $480 from the city’s used oil recycling program.

In other action, council members agreed to:

* Boost to $1 from 75 cents per ton the amount the city charges its 15 trash haulers. The estimated $113,000 generated from the tax would help the city pay for its state-mandated recycling program.

* Destroy the Paularino Park restroom and recreation building. Mesa Pacific Development Co. was hired at a cost of $16,350. Work will begin in a week and should be finished in 30 days.