By Mitchell Englander, Councilmember, Twelfth District

I was proud to cut the ribbon on the new Nicole Bernson SAFE Center on Thursday, Oct. 25 in Granada Hills.  This beautiful new facility will offer Northwest Valley residents a convenient and safe location in their own community to drop off Household Hazardous Waste.

The people of the Twelfth District are the best recyclers in the City. Even so, Household Hazardous materials like paint, cleaning supplies and batteries have been a challenge to keep out of the landfill because the closest SAFE Center was located in Sun Valley. The new SAFE Center will help community members take care of the environment.

Former Councilmember Greig Smith had the SAFE Center named after our Deputy Chief of Staff Nicole Bernson in recognition of her years of dedicated and effective work in developing and passing the RENEW LA plan and helping to dramatically advance the City’s recycling and environmental policies.

The Nicole Bernson SAFE Center Opens This Weekend!
10241 N. Balboa Blvd. (at Devonshire St.)
Granada Hills
Open Saturdays & Sundays
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
For more information including a list of exactly what the SAFE Center accepts, visit 
https://www.lacitysan.org or
call (800) 988-6942.

We were joined by former District 12 Councilmembers Greig Smith and Hal Bernson, Public Works Commissioners Capri Maddox and Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza, Bureau of Sanitation Director Enrique Zaldivar, City Engineer Gary Lee Moore and Public Inspector John Reamer.

SAFE stands for Solvents, Automotive, Flammables and Electronics. SAFE Centers, located throughout the City of Los Angeles, enable residents to safely and properly dispose of electronic, automotive and Household Hazardous Waste. That includes TVs, electronic toys, motor oil, paint, pool chemicals, fluorescent light bulbs, and batteries. It is illegal to throw away Household Hazardous Waste into the regular trash, because, once in landfills, they can leach toxic pollution into the air, soil and groundwater.

In 2011, City SAFE Centers collected and recycled or safely disposed of 7.8 million pounds of Household Hazardous Waste. They are an integral part of the City reaching its Zero Waste Goal. I was proud to work side-by-side with Former Councilmember Greig Smith and Ms. Bernson to develop and pass the groundbreaking RENEW LA Plan, a blueprint to end the City’s use of landfills, maximize recycling, generate sustainable energy and achieve the Zero Waste Goal. It has helped Los Angeles achieve a 72% recycling rate, the highest of any big city in the United States.