Spring Cleaning - Proper disposal of household hazardous waste

Antifreeze, household cleaners, gasoline, pesticides, oil paints, solvents, used motor oil, etc. Improper disposal allows these items to seep into and pollute our rivers and groundwater. So the next time you’re spring cleaning or on the move, learn the proper disposal of household hazardous waste. The Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District encourages you to participate in spring cleaning to rid your house and garage of household hazardous waste.  

This spring, the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District will be opening a year-round facility to receive household hazardous waste collected by Cuyahoga County communities. Since this facility will not be open to the general public, the district is working with all Cuyahoga County communities to establish local household hazardous waste collection programs. Once the materials are collected by a community, they will deliver the materials to the district’s year-round center. This new program will make it more convenient for residents to recycle unwanted household chemicals and protect the environment.

Contact your community’s service department for local household hazardous waste collection information. Some residents can already dispose of household hazardous waste year-round at their service department. 

The following items are accepted in this program. The district can only accept materials that originated from a household and not a commercial source.

HOUSEHOLD MATERIALS ACCEPTED

• Oil or solvent-based paint, sealers, primers, or coatings (aerosols or liquids)
• Varnishes, polyurethanes, shellacs
• Paint thinner, mineral spirits, turpentine
• Caustic household cleaners
• Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides
• Pool chemicals
• Automotive fluids, motor oil, car batteries
• Adhesives, roof tar, driveway sealer
• Kerosene, gasoline, lighter fluid
• Mercury, fluorescent bulbs

MATERIALS NOT ACCEPTED

• Explosives, gun powder, ammunition, flares
• Medical waste, pharmaceuticals, medicine, sharps
• Radioactive waste (e.g. smoke detectors)
• Tires
• Electronics, appliances
• Latex paint is mostly water and is not a hazardous material. To dispose of latex paint, solidify and place in your curbside trash. For detail instructions, go to: http://cuyahogaswd.org/en-US/latex-paint-disposal.aspx. Dried out paint and/or empty paint cans are not hazardous and should be placed in the regular rubbish.

DISPOSAL OF OTHER ITEMS

Wastes such as motor oil, antifreeze, propane tanks, aerosol cans and batteries can be disposed of at various locations throughout Cuyahoga county. Visit the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District website for the brochure Handle with Care: How to Properly Dispose of Hazardous Household Products.

The Home Depot has a national compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) recycling program. At each Home Depot store, customers can simply bring in any expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk.

Keep an eye out for expired medicine drop off events in your community to keep pharmaceuticals out of our waterways!

EVENT BACKGROUND

The Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Program is free to all Cuyahoga county households. The program provides for the environmentally-safe disposal of hazardous, poisonous or toxic household products that cannot be disposed in the regular trash.

Since this program began in 1996, more than eight million pounds of hazardous household chemicals have been collected. When households improperly store or dispose of hazardous materials in the trash, storm drains, or on the ground, they can pollute our environment and endanger the health and safety of themselves, their family, pets and sanitation workers.

Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District - www.cuyahogaswcd.org

Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District - www.cuyahogaswd.org