A community cleanup and recycling event is being held Saturday in the southeast parking lot of Qualcomm Stadium from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you live in the city of San Diego, now's the time to properly get rid of stuff you don't need anymore.
It's spring cleaning time, and if you've been storing up items such as tires, household batteries, light bulbs, even electronics and furniture, this event is for you and free of charge.
City Councilman Todd Gloria said recycling prevents people from dumping waste illegally and saves the city money.
"Things that end up in alley ways, canyons and other places in the public right of way that the city has to pick up. So if we can divert the staffing time and resources elsewhere to take care proactively rather than reacting, that's a benefit to the city," Gloria said.
Bill Prinz with the Solid Waste Enforcement Agency encourages people to get rid of old vehicle tires as well. "Waste tires are a blight on the community. When improperly managed they can create mosquito breeding habitats and rodent harborage," he said.
The last recycling event at Qualcomm was in June. It drew about 450 vehicles to the southeast parking lot. This Saturday organizers are hoping to double that number.
Environmental Services Supervisor Lisa Poston said they'll have plenty of trucks and will try to recycle as much as possible. "We take the metals to the recycling center, the greens to the greenery, the trash does go in the landfill, but we try to separate as much as we can. Electronics,TV's all of that goes to a recycling center," Poston said.
This event is only for San Diego residents, so no business or commercial waste will be accepted.
