In South County, we’ve got water contaminated with perchlorate;
mattresses and chairs dumped in alleyways and vacant lots; and even
global warming.
Earth Day is April 22. But paying attention to how we’re
treating the Earth is a year-round job for people the world
over.
In South County, we’ve got water contaminated with perchlorate; mattresses and chairs dumped in alleyways and vacant lots; and even global warming.
Earth Day is April 22. But paying attention to how we’re treating the Earth is a year-round job for people the world over.
Tracy Pakulniewicz-Chidiac, the communications director for the Earth Day Network, said Earth Day is celebrated by more than half a billion people in 174 countries.
“Everything that happens in the environment inevitably ends up having an effect on us. You link air pollution to asthma. You take toxic water and toxins in general leading to birth defects,” Pakulniewicz-Chidiac said.
Locally, events are planned to celebrate the day, but long-term actions must be taken to really help make a difference.
In Gilroy and Morgan Hill, like many communities, recycling programs and other efforts are under way to help minimize the negative effect trash and pollution can have on the earth. Gilroy has expanded its recycling program, which used to include just plastics numbered one and two. The city now recycles plastics numbered from one to seven, said city Environmental Program Coordinator Lisa Jensema. The number, usually found on the bottom of a plastic container, designates the type of plastic it’s made out of.
Jensema said a lot of people in Gilroy participate in curbside recycling, but where the city suffers is in illegal dumping.
“We get a lot of complaints about people finding dumped things – mattresses, couches, chairs – in sometimes remote areas, lots and sometimes alleyways,” Jensema said. “That’s just unfortunate. It means people aren’t being responsible for their items.”
The dumped items then become the responsibility of the owner of the property where the items have been dumped or of the city.
An abundance of trash isn’t the only environmental problem South County faces. Water quality has suffered in southern Morgan Hill and San Martin as a plume of perchlorate moves through wells. Perchlorate is a primary ingredient in rocket fuel and fireworks.
Olin Corporation, which manufactured flares at a Tennant Avenue factory, was responsible for the plume, and the chemical has been detected in unsafe amounts in as many as 450 South County wells. Perchlorate can impair thyroid function and cause tumors in humans.
To help ease the burden of pollution and trash on their city, Morgan Hill offers services such as free composting classes and information kits on water conservation.
In the future, Jensema said, Gilroy hopes to expand its recycling offerings. Each month, Gilroy already offers residents a way to dispose of their household hazardous waste for free, instead of residents having to take the waste to the facility in San Martin for disposal.
Gilroy is working on holding an e-waste recycling program in the late spring or early summer. That would give residents an opportunity to dispose of electronic waste, such as old computers and television sets, which contain hazardous materials and are no longer allowed in many landfills.
And, in the summer, the city will attempt to get restaurants to compost their food waste. The waste would be put in a special container, picked up and mixed in with the yard waste that is collected, and turned into a beneficial soil additive to help gardens grow.
“Not too many cities are doing that right now,” Jensema said. “We would be on the cutting edge.”
She said the city would also try to get homeowners involved.
Pakulniewicz-Chidiac said people need to continue the work to benefit the environment.
“As we move forward, we don’t want people to get complacent,” she said. “We want people to realize there’s so much more to be done because the environment affects everything from economics to housing.”
More information on Gilroy’s environmental programs is on the Web at www.ci.gilroy.ca.us/comserv/environ_programs.html
