At the Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Council meeting, Foster City’s City Council approved providing Door-to-Door Household Hazardous Waste (HHW), Universal Waste (U-Waste), Electronic Scrap (E-Scrap) and Sharps Recycling Collection Services to single-family and multi-family residents.

The program, which starts on March 1, 2011, will provide a safe, convenient way for Foster City residents to properly dispose of items such as paint, solvents, insecticides, cleaning products, fluorescent lamps, laptops, computers monitors, TVs and sharps. To use the program, residents can call a toll free number or send an email to order a “kit bag” from Curbside, Inc., the vendor selected by RethinkWaste to provide the service. Residents can then place items inside the bag and schedule an appointment for its collection. Curbside, Inc. will properly recycle, reuse, re-refine or dispose of the materials.

The City Council is enthusiastic about the program, citing the benefits to both the residents and the environment. Mayor Linda Koelling stated, “I am excited that this program will make it convenient for residents to dispose of hazardous materials. By making it easier to do the right thing, not only will residents save time and hassle, but we also hope that fewer hazardous chemicals will end up in the landfill, groundwater or bay.”

The cost for this new service has been included in the garbage rates for 2011.

Foster City is the eighth RethinkWaste Member Agency to offer the new program. The Cities of Belmont, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, San Carlos and San Mateo, the Town of Hillsborough and the West Bay Sanitary District rolled out the program last year to their respective communities.

RethinkWaste had awarded Curbside, Inc. a three-year contract for the services in October 2009. The Southern California-based company, a subsidiary of Waste Management, provides door-to-door services to over 40 jurisdictions across the country. Materials collected from the RethinkWaste service area will be processed at Curbside, Inc.’s facility in the East Bay.

For more information, please contact Assistant Engineer, Laura Galli, at 650-286-3280 or lgalli@fostercity.org.