The Household Hazardous Waste You Have and How To Safely Get Rid Of It [Week 10]
Amanda Drews, 5 minute read
There are many things in your house that are considered household hazardous waste and need to be disposed of the right way.
What I’ll cover:
- What is household hazardous waste?
- How do I dispose of the household hazardous waste items in my home when I am done using them?
- Why can’t I recycle some of those items in my curbside bin?
What is household hazardous waste?
Household hazardous waste is anything that is:
- corrosive
- flammable/inflammable (they mean the same thing)
- reactive
- toxic
- an oxidizer
- containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS)
That sounds like stuff you would only find in a chemistry lab but there are many common items in homes that would fall under these categories.
Some examples of household hazardous waste are:
- nail polish
- cleaners
- pesticides
- adhesives
- fluorescent bulbs
- cords
- holiday lights
- propane tanks
- electronics
- tires
- appliances
- paint
- automotive products
- vaping pens
- thermometers-our Recycling Zone will even give you a replacement (without the mercury)
- Fire extinguishers– I hope you never have to use one but if you do need to use a fire extinguisher, like I had to with this lovely porta potty at a music festival, take it in to a household hazardous waste facility.
- Sharps/needles– put these in a hard plastic container, like an old laundry detergent bottle, duct tape them shut and write with a Sharpie “Do not recycle! Household sharps”
- batteries– single use batteries can go in the trash. Rechargeable batteries (and lithium ion batteries) should be taped on the ends and sent to a household hazardous waste facility. Any place that sells car batteries should be able to take your old car batteries (up to 5) whether you buy one or not from them according to Dakota County.
- ink cartridges– Many Office Depots, Best Buys and Staples will take these and give you $2 back towards buying new ink. I’ve seen drop of spots in Targets as well
- hairspray-In general, it’s best to avoid aerosols all together as the mist is easily inhaled. It’s just not great for you or the environment. Is there a gel or foam that you could you instead of that hairspray? But hey, sometimes when you’re getting your hair did, it’s needed! Just try to avoid daily use.
- cell phones and other small electronics-Your old cell phone contains high demand minerals that leave a huge impact on the environment. The Minnesota Zoo has a Recycle for Rainforests program that allow people to drop-off their old cell phones, WIFI cards, handheld GPS units, E-readers, handheld gaming systems, , iPods, Mp3 players, iPads, digital cameras, and even cell phone accessories and chargers.
These all have the potential to be harmful to the environment and living things, including yourself!
How do I dispose of the household hazardous waste items in my home when I am done using them?
When you are done with your household hazardous waste items, look and see if your town has any specialty recycling centers. Our county has the Recycling Zone. They have a great list of the items they accept and do not accept. We just bring our items in a box, scan our driver’s license and someone comes out to take them away. They charge nominal fees for a few large items like televisions, computer screens and tires.
Bring household hazardous waste into recycling centers in a box that you can give away. Keep everything in their original containers with the caps on.
In our community, left over medications and packaging can be brought to police stations. That goes for pet meds as well.
A very cool part of our Recycling Zone is the Reuse Zone.
The household hazardous waste items people drop off that are still good are placed out on shelves for people to come in and take home for free. It’s worth a look there before heading to the store to go by new. Especially for the items you are only going to be using a little bit of.
If you wouldn’t have eaten the contents or rubbed it all over your body, then its container does not go in your curbside recycling bin.
If a household hazardous waste container is empty, it can go in just the normal trash. Sorry, there’s no recycling that paint can or even that #1 plastic cleaner bottle. If you only have a tiny amount of paint left in a can, left it sit for a few days and dry out. If there is still a large amount of paint left, see if you can find someone who will take it. Remember to keep at least small amounts of all the colors in your house for touch-ups. Baby food jars work well for this.
Why can’t I recycle some of these items in my curbside bin?
Remember the Rules of Recycling? There are some items such as cords, holiday lights and plastic bags that could get tangled in the sorting machinery at a recycling facility. This can lead to broken machinery and dangerous conditions for sanitation workers who have to climb up in there to fix it.
Household hazardous waste items NEVER go in curbside recycling bins unless specifically noted by your hauler! Even if it’s an empty container, if you wouldn’t have eaten the contents or rubbed it all over your body, then it does not go in your curbside recycling bin.
Recycled items are typically made into food or personal product containers. You don’t really want your rodent killer contaminated package being recycled into your new milk jug. We also want to make sure the sanitation workers are being kept safe. Unexpected household hazardous waste could lead to unhealthy vapors, acids or even explosions.
And no, your infamous casserole that nobody seems to eat is not considered household hazardous waste. No matter what your spouse says. That should go to composting.
- Find the nearest specialty recycling center in your community. Go through the list of what they take or give them a call if you have questions.
- Make a place in your home (mine is in my garage in a cardboard box) to put items that need to be recycled at one of these facilities.
- That’s it for my Waste 101 series! Let’s move onto some other subjects as it gets nicer outside with an Easy way to help out pollinators this spring in Week 11.
