More than 350 LWers participated in recycle event

GAF

The Golden Age Foundation (GAF) sponsored a successful battery recycling event that served about 350 residents who dropped off over 650 pounds of batteries Nov. 15.

This was the first opportunity to recycle batteries in LW since September.

Residents expressed gratitude to the GAF when it found a way to resume the service, saving them a trip to a hazardous waste center. Household batteries cannot be thrown away in regular household trash.

People brought their batteries to the Clubhouse 2 parking lot where volunteers collected, sorted and packed them for shipment to the recycle facility.

Leisure World’s longtime battery-disposal service was discontinued after significant cost increases in pick up and processing made it impractical to continue.

In 2021, the GAF recycled between 3,000-5,000 pounds of batteries, but the cost of recycling shot up from less than $1 a pound to over $4 a pound. As a result, collection points supplied by the Golden Rain Foundation to the GAF were no longer available.

Since then, the GAF found a new program, which still costs around $1.50 per pound but is much less expensive than the $4-$5 per pound it was paying last year.

So many residents turned out Nov. 15 that several had to be turned away as the 650-pound limit was reached sooner than anticipated.

The GAF plans to hold another household battery collection event in four months.

In the meantime, LW residents can take their batteries (of all sizes) to an Orange County Waste and Recycling Center for free all year long. Centers also take paints, cleaners, oils and

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pesticides and other hazardous waste, as well as electronic waste such as televisions, tablets, cell phones and computers. The nearest facility to LW is located in Huntington Beach, 8.5 miles from Leisure World, at 17121 Nichols Lane, Huntington Beach, 92647, Gate 6. It is open from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. For more information, call 714-834-4000.

The GAF would like to thank the members of this wonderful community for their commitment to recycle as well as all the volunteers who supported the event, including Beth Greeley, Linda Johnson, Fara Mccartney, Shery Wells, Rosemarie Da Roza, Dave Forney, Paul Lee, Ivy Kung, Anna Derby, Paula Snowden, Chung Cha Lewis, Seung Yul Lee, Michael Oh, Al Basler and Carl Kennedy.