When county officials told Saratoga residents they were no longer eligible to participate in the Countywide Hazardous Waste Collection Program, city clerk Cathleen Boyer heard about it.

"Three hundred people called in after funding ended in November," Boyer said.

City staff began referring residents to alternative sites to dispose of items such as batteries, motor oil and flourescent light bulbs. But alternative disposal sites for latex and oil-based paint, pesticides and other household chemicals were not available.

Boyer said every year Santa Clara County asks the city of Saratoga to augment the Countywide Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program with about $40,000. Because of budget constraints last year, the city decided not to provide augmentation funding for the program, which meant Saratogans became ineligible to participate in late November.

A recent decision by the city council to provide $25,000 budgeted out of the city's environmental fund means city residents can once again dispose of hazardous waste with the county. Saratoga will be participating in the program through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in June. Then the city council will decide what to do from there.

"We're having to subsidize our hazardous waste more than most cities do," Councilwoman Kathleen King said. "It's pretty expensive for us to drop off hazardous waste. We're doing it because it's the right thing to do."

Several factors make hazardous waste disposal expensive for the city. The county provides $1.85 per ton of trash to the city's environmental fund. Because Saratoga is mostly residential with little commercial activity, and because city residents recycle and use disposal services at a higher rate than average, funding usually runs out before the fiscal year has ended. Augmentation funds are then required.

Rob D'Arcy, the hazardous materials program manager for Santa Clara County, said because Saratogans are more environmentally aware, they require a higher level of service. "Given the demographics of Saratoga, being residential with little commercial, the funding is not quite adequate for the people who want the service. We were at a point where we couldn't deliver the service without appropriate funding so we referred them to the city."

D'Arcy said Saratogans make frequent appointments to drop off their hazardous waste with the county and they participate in temporary drop-off events throughout the year.

Although Saratogans are once again eligible to residents citizens would pressure the producers of products such as garden pesticides, household cleaners and paint to take responsibility for their disposal rather than leave it to government.

"The producers have developed sophisticated distribution systems but not for reverse distribution," D'Arcy said. "Instead, it's pushed onto the taxpayers. If you are going to profit from a product, then the end-life of the product should be part of the cost. It's not a job for government. It's a waste of taxpayers' money and it's a shame the producers aren't held responsible."