Santa Clara County Receives Grant to Promote Proper Disposal of Motor Oil, Filters

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has awarded the Santa Clara County Household Hazardous Waste program a two-year $300,000 grant to promote proper disposal of motor oil and filters in San José and other South Bay communities. The City of San José will work in collaboration with the County of Santa Clara.

“This is partnership at its best where we can leverage the resources, creativity and our combined efforts to prevent pollution in our creeks and waterways,” said Kerrie Romanow, director of San José’s Environmental Services Department. “By working together on a difficult regional issue, we can use new outreach tools that resonate with our diverse community.”

“We’re also delighted to extend our partnership with the San Jose Earthquakes and their strong commitment to environmental stewardship as we talk about using the Quakes star power to help keep motor oil out of our creeks and waterways.”

San José will focus on a regional trans-cultural public educational campaign to encourage residents to bring their used motor oil and filters to Certified Used Oil Collection Centers and the household hazardous waste (HHW) drop-off facilities.

The campaign will include traditional advertisements and digital and mobile marketing, as well as having a presence at the new Earthquakes stadium. The city’s promotional partnership will help deliver the safe disposal message to soccer fans, who are similar to the target audience for the HHW educational campaign.

“These grant funds will strengthen our region’s current collaboration to protect our local creeks,” said Rob D’Arcy, manager of the Santa Clara County Recycling and Waste Reduction Div. “Motor oil and filters are still a significant cause of harm to fish and wildlife, even though residents can take these pollutants to many proper disposal sites. We want more people to take advantage of these services.”

The Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP) is the collaborative that focuses on preventing pollution in Santa Clara Valley watersheds and waterways. It includes Santa Clara County, Santa Clara Valley Water District and 13 South Bay cities that also will be involved in the activities funded by the state grant.

SCVURPPP shares a South Bay regional permit from the state to discharge storm water and meet environmental quality standards. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program under the federal Clean Water Act controls water pollution by regulating discharges of pollutants into waterways.