Buttonwillow, California
Buttonwillow is an unincorporated community in Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Buttonwillow is 26 miles west of Bakersfield, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway 58. Nearly 80% of its 1500 residents are Latino/a, with many residents being monolingual Spanish Speaking. Approximately 34% of residents are below the poverty line. Many residents are farm workers.
A company called “Clean Harbors” operates a large hazardous waste landfill facility in Buttonwillow. The landfill has been allowed by county and state agencies to operate on a permit that expired in 2006. Greenaction’s Executive Director Bradley Angel was arrested during a Kern County public hearing on the landfill in 1994 for the “crime” of speaking Spanish, the language spoken by many residents.
The CalEPA/Department of Toxic Substances Control’s Envirostor website has information about the permit and regulatory history of the toxic waste dump. Click here to view this information.
California Environmental Protection Agency’s “CalEnviroScreen 4.0” ranks Buttonwillow as one of the communities in the state heavily impacted by pollution and other health and socio-economic indicators. Click here to view the report.
Join Greenaction and residents in demanding an end to dumping toxic waste in Buttonwillow and Kettleman City!
Read the new Greenaction fact sheet on the Clean Harbors Buttonwillow toxic waste landfill
Buttonwillow Fact Sheet 2022 (ENGLISH/SPANISH)
IMPORTANT RESOURCES:
Click here to read Scoping Comments on the Draft EIR for Clean Harbors Buttonwillow hazardous and non-hazardous waste landfill. Comments are written by Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, El Pueblo Para el Aire y Agua Limpia/People for Clean Air and Water of Kettleman City, Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, and Central California Environmental Justice Network.
Greenaction & EJ allies demand California Department of Toxic Substances Control reject Kern County’s racially discriminatory environmental review process for the giant toxic waste landfill. Click here to read.