Spring Cleaning - Hazardous Waste Disposal

Spring cleaning is right around the corner and some things are harder to dispose of than others. Hazardous waste refers to any substance with at least one of the following characteristics:

• Toxic

• Ignitable

• Corrosive

• Reactive

Some examples of these items that you may have around the house include adhesives, aerosol cans, antifreeze, batteries, cleansers, compressed gas cylinders, e-cigarettes, electronic waste, gasoline and other solvents, light bulbs, medical waste, mercury, paints and stains, pesticides, smoke detectors, tires, and used oil/oil filters to name a few. See the video below for some additional background information on common forms of household generated hazardous waste.

Never dump anything that may be considered hazardous down the drain or on the ground. These pathways have connections to our water sources and cause major issues for water quality and public health and safety. Additionally, these item can cause issues if they are sent to a landfill so it is important to understand how to dispose of these hazardous items.

So how do we properly dispose of these hazardous waste items? There are a couple of options that you have depending on the type of waste and disposal materials available to you.

Most hazardous waste has a specific entity that accepts it or specific dates/events where it is collected and disposed of properly. If you live in Saginaw County, Mid-Michigan Waste Authority host household hazardous waste collection days that are free to residents throughout the year; residents simply need to make an appointment for a collection time. For more information visit: https://www.recyclemotion.org/household-hazardous-waste/

Below are EGLE’s links for how to find the correct disposal opportunity across the state.

• EGLE County Recycling and HHW Contact List.

• EGLE Michigan Recycling Directory

• EGLE Household Drug Take Back Map

• EGLE Registered Electronic Waste Take Back Program List

• MDARD Pesticide Clean Sweep Program Contacts

• Earth 911 Where to Recycle Search

But what should you do until the collection event?

Given that the collection events only happen periodically, this can create storage issues since you have to hang onto the waste until the disposal event. There are some things you can do to make sure that you are storing any hazardous waste in the meantime.

1. Store the items in a way that does not present a hazard to you or others.

2. Utilize secondary containment in the area where your waste is stored so that everything is contained in the event that a spill occurs.

3. Store items in a place where they are least likely to be disturbed or exposed to high temperature swings.