PRIDE WEEK WRAPS UP WITH COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP DAY.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Volunteers welcomed mattresses whose springs had long ago sprung, commodes that had lost their luster and raggedy sofas that had supported a few too many tushies - all in the name of community pride.

Hundreds of residents took advantage of Community Clean-up Day on Saturday and brought their hard-to-dispose-of items to one of four collection sites outfitted with giant trash bins. The event concluded Pride Week in Santa Clarita.

``One guy came with a pickup truck filled with five toilets,'' said volunteer Jeff Amelang, 17. ``Two of them weren't exactly flushed. Another guy pretty much brought in his whole bathroom - sink, toilet, shower, tiles.''

The annual event seeks to reduce the amount of debris dumped in undeveloped areas where people often leave the trash that doesn't fit in their garbage bins.

Dave Smith, who works in the city's Field Services department, said the event makes a big difference in the community.

``If people can't bring it here, it ends up in the desert or along Sierra Highway,'' Smith said. ``It really helps. A lot of it looks like leftovers from remodeling or additions, like windows and a lot of wood.''

Stationed on 13th Street off San Fernando Road in Newhall, Amelang said the most common items included shards of wood, piping and scraps of metal. But there were some interesting loads, too.

``Some guy came in this morning with some really strange looking, unfamiliar '70s furniture,'' the Hart High senior said. ``I don't know, there were some weird lamps and strange decorative stuff. Looks like a good idea, to throw it away.''

City employees gathered at locations in Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus and Valencia, filling the giant trash containers to capacity before towing them to a landfill.

While event organizers had to turn away those who brought TVs, computer monitors, fluorescent lights and other more hazardous materials, many were directed to College of the Canyons, where a team of hazardous waste specialists accepted used motor oil, paint, antifreeze, herbicides and batteries.

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(1 -- 3) Workers in protective clothing, top, remove toxic trash from a pickup truck during Saturday's hazardous waste collection at College of the Canyons, part of Community Clean-up Day. At left, cars proceed through the production-line type setup sponsored by Los Angeles County. Above, paint, oil and other types of hazardous household products are sorted for proper disposal.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer