Household hazardous waste (HHW), sometimes called retail hazardous waste, should be taken to an appropriate waste collection center near you. As they have great potential for environmental danger and bodily harm, hazardous wastes from your home should never be thrown in the regular trash collection and recycle bin.
It’s also not safe when strong household chemicals are flushed down the toilet, poured down the drain, or even disposed of in the sewer. ACTenviro offers you a reliable, convenient, and compliant way to get these items out of your house:
- Insecticides and pesticides
- Fertilizers
- Gasoline
- Swimming pool chemicals
- Cleaning and polishing fluids
- Metal cleaners
- Paint thinners
- Aerosol paint cans
- Latex and oil paints
- Sealants, caulks and adhesives
- Animal baits and traps
- Lacquers and varnishes
- Photo developers
- Mineral spirits
- Drain cleaners
- Battery acid
- Automotive parts cleaner
- Wax
- Fluorescent bulbs
- Mercury products
- And other dangerous household products
While the above-listed items seem trivial as they’re used in everyday settings, they become potentially hazardous substances with improper disposal; they can pollute water systems, contaminate food sources, and even endanger unsuspecting lives.
As a responsible homeowner, it is important that you monitor the usage, storage, and proper disposal of your home-generated consumer wastes.
ACTenviro household hazardous waste disposal can get you and your family out of harm’s way through their various services.
Bulk Solid Disposal for condominiums and apartments that routinely generate bulk solid wastes. You can book ACTenviro services and they will schedule your regular household waste collections from their different branches across the western United States. Household hazardous wastes such as asbestos-containing materials (ACM), contaminated soil, construction debris, filter cakes, and recyclable metals can be loaded into their specialized roll-off boxes that they deliver to your home. You can schedule a pickup at your own convenience.
ACTenviro Transportation and Disposal of household chemical wastes. This service is the cornerstone of the company as a waste management broker, and they guarantee the safe mobilization of hazardous by-products from your home to the disposal facility. ACTenviro is one of the best agencies where you can take your dangerous home items such as flammable liquids, acids, bases, infectious materials, sharps, and electronic wastes.
ACTenviro Coronavirus Services can take care of your hazardous home wastes such as masks, gloves, medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and items that might be contaminated with the deadly virus. ACTenviro’s Covid-19 response team follows strict CDC protocols in decontaminating surfaces, household hazardous waste disposal, and even disinfection.
ACTenviro Emergency Response for household hazardous waste accidents. Sometimes, even the slightest domestic mishap can unfold into something catastrophic that’s why ACTenviro’s24-hour emergency response hotline (866) 348-2800 is always ready to assist you with oil or mercury spill cleanup, infectious disease decontamination, hazardous material disposal, and even disaster response.
ACTenviro Recycling for hazardous household wastes can turn your old paints, used solvents, dead batteries, broken electronics, shattered glass, used oil, and universal wastes (mercury or fluorescent products) into a renewable resource. When you take a HHW to them, they ensure these by-products will be recycled as semiconductor components or as raw materials in manufacturing.
ACTenviro Vacuum Truck Services for the household waste that no one really likes to talk about – overflowing wastewater. ACT’s state-of-the-art vacuum service can suck out septic tanks, pump out flushed chemicals, and clean underground storage tanks.
What are the items considered as household hazardous wastes? These are your everyday things that are accepted to be disposed in most waste management agencies before being transferred to an incinerator or landfill site:
Chemicals and solvents – acetone, turpentine, paint thinner, and the likes should never be mixed with motor oil. Likewise, if you have a good amount of these liquids for disposal, do use them in tanks that used to contain automotive fluids.
Acids and Alkali – bottles of hydrochloric acid (commonly called muriatic acid) and ammonium hydroxide found in most home disinfectant solutions can be discarded when empty. However, always use separate containers for ammonia-based solutions with acids or bleach.
Aerosol spray cans and inhalers – compressed gas cartridges such as aerosol cans, spray inhalers, and gas tanks (usually holding oxygen, helium, or CO2 for patient home care) are readily accepted in most household hazardous waste management sites.
Automotive fluids – not all of these liquids are compatible. Self-service pour recycling centers of automotive fluids have precautionary guidance for liquids compatible with motor oil, anti-freeze products, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), windshield washers, and other fluids that can’t be mixed inside the recycling tanks.
How many times did you tell yourself that it’s always handy to keep a small bottle of paint for quick wall touch-ups or stock up on household cleaners only to find out that they’ve gone past their expiration dates? Now you’re faced with the task of properly disposing these toxic home byproducts.
But even if you can take your household hazardous waste to ACT, it’s a good practice to know the proper handling of the HHWs at home.
- Always read the label on the container as it often includes instructions for use, storage, and disposal. Don’t throw away or peel off the labels to prevent mishaps.
- Take note of products that risk igniting, exploding, corroding, or leaking when exposed to direct sunlight, mixed with other chemicals, or when disposed of inappropriately.
- Be sure you are following all instructions and precautions on the label when transporting your household hazardous waste to a management facility or when handing it off to personnel.
- Do not ever store dangerous chemicals inside food containers to avoid accidental ingestion.
- If certain waste products require special handling (sharps, radioactive household wastes), call the local agency for safety instructions.
- When you are unsure, do not mix household hazardous wastes with other HHWs. For example, don’t dispose of your old batteries (which contains sulfuric acid) with alcohol or ketones as it might potentially explode.
- Ask assistance from your local environment, health agency, and solid waste management facility for the HHW disposal guidelines in your state. If your community has a local collection site, drop off your by-products inside a safety container.
- Whenever possible, do not recycle empty receptacles of hazardous home wastes as they are still at risk of contaminants and chemical residues.
- Schedule a home pick. Contact ACTenviro or a local waste management company in your locality. Having a professional to help you sort out and dispose will save you from a lot of guessing games that might end up hurting your health.
- Find a drop-off location. A lot of private waste management facilities like ACTenviro can help you schedule a drop-off - whether in small amounts or in bulk - and they help you with the paperwork whenever needed.
- Donate usable chemicals to charitable institutions, churches, and social organizations. You probably have a can of latex paints or cleaning bleach lying around in your shed. The best way to “dispose” of it is by putting it in good use instead of disposing it in nature.
- Another useful tip is taking a photo of the labels before they get torn or faded. Make sure you know what ingredients they contain in case of accidental ingestion. Keep it near the emergency response team contact number and fire station.
In general, dangerous or contaminated garbage from households are excluded from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)’s regulation covering the general hazardous by-products from commercial or industrial waste generators.
To be clear, HHWs are not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Instead, state regulations on local solid waste management have come together to form a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program to give residents a safer way to dispose of harmful household chemicals.
So you might be asking where can I take my household hazardous waste? As long as you are throwing away items that belong to the following criteria:
- Wastes generated by individuals on the premise of a permanent, temporary, or transient residence, and
- Waste streams primarily composed of consumer household items,
They are regulated under the state and local level as solid waste can be picked up or delivered to a waste management agency in your area.
The EPA also expanded their definition of “household waste generators” to include crew bunkhouses, employee quarters, camping sites, picnic groves, and even day-use facilities. However, household hazardous wastes should not be mixed with other trash piles.
The EPA’s comprehensive definition of “hazardous” household items in the trash is the same as the items listed above but are categorized into four:
Reactive substances – solid, liquid, or gas that is prone to explosion under high temperature or pressures.
Combustible materials – those that easily ignite or burn easily with or without an explosive reaction.
Toxic substances – can cause harm upon skin contact, ingestion, or inhalation including chemicals, pollen, and even mold-infected household items.
Corrosive substances – are usually liquid that can corrode or oxidize metals. These chemicals are found in industrial-grade cleaners that are sold in home improvement shops.
A lot of hazardous factory-grade chemicals are surprisingly found in our homes. You probably have a handful of those substances lying around the house, workshop, or pantry. This has prompted federal regulations to permit the disposal of HHW into mainstream solid waste management programs but they remain stringent in regulating it.
Some states, even in Canada, have equipped their local fire stations in accepting empty propane and helium tanks. No doubt the fire brigade would certainly know how to dispose of flammable liquids and gas containers.
The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) has a handy list of battery recycling centers in almost every state in the United States that are accredited with local environmental organizations.
Whereas the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association (NAHMMA) publishes whitepapers, holds annual conferences, and conducts training aimed towards the proper disposal of household hazardous wastes and where to take them.
In context, however, the definition of household hazardous wastes is not just limited to the common household chemicals listed by the EPA and federal state agencies. They may also include personal care items with a high risk of contamination, sharps, and medical drugs.
What’s the Universal Waste Law of 2006 and how can it affect where I take my household hazardous wastes? A “universal waste” is garbage generated by several sectors including hospitals, factories, commercial spaces, and not just homes. Examples of universal wastes generated in a home setting include the common batteries, light bulbs, mercury-based thermostats, e-wastes, aerosol sprays.
As of February 2006, it has become illegal for homeowners to dump universal waste items in the regular garbage streams because they can’t be disposed of in landfills. Lead and mercury are toxic when absorbed in the soil and released into the air and bodies of water.
Disposing of household hazardous wastes can also be done in no-contact drop-off facilities where you have the option to stay inside your vehicle and items will be unloaded from your cargo trunk. The disposal staff will not open a passenger door or enter a vehicle. Drivers and passengers must still wear masks during hazardous household waste drop-offs.
Conclusion
Such everyday items like the AAA batteries inside your remote control and the brake fluid you always spill in your garage becomes hazardous in magnitude. Imagine when thousands of households toss out toxic stuff daily.
Through the years of living at your home or even when you’re about to move, you’ll soon find yourself tossing out used and half-empty chemicals, batteries, and oils of all sorts. Always remember that there is a proper way to dispose of these household hazardous wastes.
Federal and local agencies may offer free disposal for these wastes but may not be readily available at all times. Private collection agencies like ACTenviro can give you the best option in HHW drop-off or pick-up waste disposal services.
As household generated hazardous wastes come in all forms – solid, liquid, or gas – there is no one size fits all disposal method. Instead, you have to learn how to containerize it properly, label appropriately, and categorize it correctly. For example, not all liquids can go together in one canister. Batteries may also explode when in contact with chemicals.
You can always eliminate the guesswork on where you can take your household hazardous wastes through ACTenviro’s waste disposal services as they offer removal, transportation, and even sanitation work.
