Safe disposal of hazardous waste

By NANCY PARADIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 8, 2000

I read your item June 23 about how long gasoline can be stored without deteriorating. I have a gasoline and oil mixture stored for a weed trimmer, and now I understand why I am having so much trouble running it. The gasoline has probably gone bad.

How do I get rid of this fuel in a legal and environmentally sound way? Murry Seidenberg

Response: Take your mixture to Pinellas County Solid Waste Operations, 2990 110th Ave. N, St. Petersburg. It accepts small quantities of gasoline and other fuels and oils from households only on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the third Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Your gas-oil mixture has to be in an approved container, which you must leave there. Milk jugs won't do.

If you were disposing of oil or even just gasoline, you could probably find a gas station that would accept it. Mixtures might not be acceptable, however.

For more information on disposing of hazardous household waste, call the Pinellas County household chemical waste hot line at 464-4623 and follow the prompts.

Refund received

I mailed $33.95 on Feb. 18 to Gero Vita International for a one-month supply of Sure Sleep pills. The pills came with a 30-day, unconditional, money-back guarantee.

I mailed back the unused pills, and Gero Vita received them on April 25. I have called six times, and each time a different explanation was given as to why my refund has been delayed. I know that without your help I will never get my refund. Thank you. Albert Sazwinski

Response: You're welcome. We're glad you got your refund.

In need of child care

I just moved to the Clearwater area from St. Petersburg and need to find a "mom's day out" program for my 2-year-old grandson, maybe at a church of my religion. Nursery schools are too expensive at this time. M. A. Johnson

Response: Get out your Yellow Pages and start calling the churches of your denomination. If you were using a similar program in St. Petersburg, you might also try calling it to ask for possible referrals.

Door-to-door sales

On Feb. 5, two young girls rang my doorbell. They said they were college kids enrolled at Penn State.

I ordered TV Guide and wrote a check for $24.95. In return, Janet gave me a receipt from American Fulfillment Center in Los Angeles. The check was made out to TV Guide.

The check was cashed, but I never received any guides. I wrote to the company at the address on the receipt but never received a reply. I would appreciate whatever you can do. Samuel Ross

Response: Thanks for letting us know that you received notice from American Fulfillment Center that it will service your order. A few comments are in order, however.

In general, we do not recommend ordering magazines from folks who appear at the door. Action has received a number of complaints over the years concerning door-to-door magazine sales. As in your case, the magazines usually failed to materialize.

In the case of American Fulfillment Center, a report of the (Los Angeles) Better Business Bureau of the Southland rates this company as having an unsatisfactory business performance record. The bureau has received complaints alleging delays or non-delivery, billing disputes, unauthorized charges, unsatisfactory merchandise, poor customer service and difficulty obtaining refunds.

The company responded to and resolved some complaints, but many others remained unresolved or unanswered. American Fulfillment Center also goes by the names American First Amendment Inc., American Fulfillment Agency, First Amendment Publishers, First Amendment Inc. and Subscription Services Inc.

If you have a question for Action, or your attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write: Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (800) 333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request for Action. Names will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.