COAST CITIES — Californians will have to rethink the way they dispose of household batteries, radios and other universal waste under a new state ruling.

On Jan. 23, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, or DTSC, announced new universal waste disposal rules that became effective Feb. 9. A department of the California Environmental Protection Agency, the DTSC aims to protect Californians from exposure to hazardous waste.

According to the new Universal Waste Disposal Law, items containing cadmium, lead, mercury, chromium and other heavy metals will no longer be allowed in landfills.

Universal waste includes household batteries, mercury thermostats, fluorescent light bulbs, cathode ray tube devices — such as those found in computer monitors and televisions — and mercury thermometers. This list also nixes the disposal of children’s flashing sneakers and musical cards.

Ron Baker, the information officer for the DTSC, said that if, for example, batteries break and leak while sitting in a landfill, they can burn through the landfill’s lining and potentially contaminate soil and groundwater.

Mercury, a well know neuro-toxin, can find its way into rivers and streams and eventually the ocean if released into the environment.

“The contamination is then picked up by fish. We eat the fish and so it increases the amount of mercury in our bodies and that’s not a good thing,” Baker said.

The Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, lists mercury as a hazardous substance that, at high levels, may damage the brain, kidneys and developing fetuses.

Baker added that the law has been in place since 2002, although the compliance period was extended for residents and small businesses until Feb. 9. Larger businesses have had to comply for years.

Locally, waste management companies such as EDCO, which serves areas throughout North County San Diego including Encinitas, San Marcos, Vista, Escondido, Fallbrook, Ramona and Poway, and Waste Management of North County in Carlsbad and Oceanside will no longer collect old television sets, fax machines and mercury thermostats along with other black listed items such as partially filled aerosol cans. Items easily recognizable in customers’ garbage will be removed and tagged as uncollectible, said Sarah Huoh, the spokeswoman for Waste Management of North County.

She said some of these items are already received by the recycling center for proper disposal, but the new ruling will be more stringent. She added that Waste Management takes household hazardous waste on Saturdays by appointment. Bulkier items, such as older washing machines and chest freezers, are eligible for Waste Management’s Bulky Item Program, which sends trucks to pick up the items.

“If it is something large [and] obvious like a TV or computer, those items can be left with a tag we have called a “notice of noncollection,” Huoh said. “Our environmental health and safety personnel in North County are modifying a current tag we have to include universal waste on it.”

The tags will provide customers with additional information on how to properly dispose of these large items.

At this point, Huoh said she can’t estimate the response Waste Management will receive regarding the ruling, but the company has notified drivers and included signage at some of its sites to inform employees and the public.

New universal waste can brought by residents of Oceanside and Carlsbad to Waste Management of North County’s two recycling centers in each area. Residents hoping to dispose of other universal waste must schedule Saturday appointments at the Oceanside center.

Johnnie Perkins, the director of communications for EDCO, said his company is handling the new ruling by providing its customers with information on its Web site. At www.edcodisposal.com, customers can learn about universal waste and where it can be disposed.

Additionally, signs have been posted at EDCO’s transfer stations and buyback centers and employees have received training as to what is acceptable.

Perkins said EDCO employees will not take trash cans that contain batteries or other universal waste and will contact customers directly when this occurs..

“We think that direct contact with the customer is the most appropriate and the most efficient,” Perkins said.

For more information about universal waste, including how to properly dispose of it, visit www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/UniversalWaste/index.cfm. Residents may also call the Waste Evaluation help line at (916) 322-7676 for additional assistance in determining what items qualify as universal waste. Information about local disposal options is available at www.earth911.org and

www.ccelearn.csus.edu/mercury

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