Clean-up/Recycling Day a spectacular success

FALLBROOK — The Fallbrook community-wide Clean-up/Recycling Day September 15 brought out hundreds of Fallbrook families and individuals who wanted to recycle their old computers, dispose of household batteries or old tires or shred long-saved personal papers.

More than 200 vehicles unloaded items at the e-waste recycling area, sponsored by Bill Cox of Oceanside’s 1-800-GOT-JUNK? That area was manned by the Sheriff’s Department Senior Volunteer Patrol and Rotary Club of Fallbrook. Bob Leonard of the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce operated the forklift. Residents dropped off more than 18,000 pounds of electrical equipment – 8.1 tons in three hours!

The paper-shredding truck, provided by Shred-It of Vista and manned by Shred-It’s Jaime Connell along with Roy Costello and George Archibald of the Fallbrook Chamber, disposed of 7,120 pounds of paper, more than twice the amount that was processed last year.

New this year was the battery recycling program, sponsored by Keep Fallbrook Clean and Green and BP (Battery Pros) Batteries, owned by Dave Gleason. More than 80 acid/lead batteries and 400 pounds of household dry cell batteries were recycled.

Fallbrook High School was the site for tire recycling, sponsored by the San Diego County Department of Public Works and headed up by recycling specialist Jen Winfry. The event collected 685 tires.

The actual clean-up of Fallbrook’s streets and several illegal dump sites took place under the sponsorship of I Love a Clean San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper. Local streets were assigned to various community organizations, including the Garden Club and Encore.

Jackie Heyneman, with a number of Save our Forest volunteers and a group from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, cleaned up a particularly junk-infested area behind some apartments on Old Stage Road. Monty and Joan Voight, along with Glen Carroll, picked up several truckloads of debris at an illegal dumpsite on Aviation Road.

More than 800 pounds of trash and items collected by volunteers were processed by Fallbrook Waste & Recycling Service.

The coordinating agencies commended the hardworking volunteers who made the effort a success.