Buttonwillow, California, is the host to one of California's three toxic waste dumps: the Lokern Facility. The facility, owned and operated by a company then known as Laidlaw Environmental, which subsequently became Safety-Kleen and was later purchased in 2012 by Clean Harbors, lies west of the community. It was created in the 1970s, without the notification of any of the county's residents. Furthermore, Highway 58, a busy road through the community, was used as the main route for trucks from the facility to transport toxic loads. At times, as many as 200 trucks would travel through the community per day.