HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is any material discarded from homes that may threaten human health or the environment when improperly disposed. Putting HHW down the storm drains, on the ground, in the trash, or down the sink or toilet can contaminate our water

Never put household hazardous waste in storm drains. We need to work together to keep our water clean.

These everyday items are considered household hazardous waste:

Paint and paint thinners
Bleach and other cleaners
Computer monitors and TVs
Car products – batteries, anti-freeze, brake fluid, etc.
Aerosols – hairspray, deodorant, etc.
Photo chemicals
Pool chemicals
Fertilizers, pesticides, and other toxic gardening chemicals
Thermometers, switches, thermostats, and bulbs containing mercury

On the left, white text on a blue background reads, "Test your knowledge! How many items are HHW?"
On the right, there is a digital image of a three-tiered shelf with various items. The top shelf has the following: Bucket of paint, batteries, soup cans. The middle shelf has the following: stack of documents, broken laptop, single-use plastic bag. The bottom shelf has the following: cardboard box, shirt stack, and bottle of bleach. — How many items are HHW? Answers below.

Click for Answer.

Four (4) of the items on the shelf are HHW: Paint, Batteries, Broken laptop, and the Bottle of bleach. There is no label on the cardboard box, and so it is possible that this contains HHW. This is a good reminder to label any containers in your storage areas.

Household Hazardous Waste Facilities

Residents can safely discard a wide variety of household hazardous wastes to their local Household Hazardous Waste Facility at no charge. Must be a resident or qualified small business in specified portion of County to use these facilities. See the table below for details.

Please call the facility listed for details about their hours, transportation limits, type of HHW acceptance, and delivery requirements.

Resident locations	Household Hazardous Waste Facility
Central County (Alamo, Blackhawk, Clayton, Concord, Clyde, Danville, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda, Pacheco, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon, Walnut Creek and other unincorporated areas in Central County)	Central Contra Costa Sanitary District HHW 4797 Imhoff Place, Martinez (800) 646-1431
East County (Antioch, Bay Point, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, Oakley, Pittsburg and other unincorporated areas in East County)	Delta Diablo Sanitation District HHW 2550 Pittsburg-Antioch Highway, Antioch (925) 756-1990
West County (Crockett, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Hercules, Kensington, Montalvin Manor, North Richmond, Pinole, Port Costa, Richmond, Rodeo San Pablo, Tara Hills, Tormey and other unincorporated areas in West County)	West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority HHW (RecycleMore) 101 Pittsburg Ave., Richmond (888) 412-9277

More Resources

Guide for Reuse, Repair, Recycling, and Safe Disposal

Search this online directory by item and zip code to see where you can take common items for reuse, repair, recycling, or safe disposal throughout Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and the City of Palo Alto: RE:Source | resource.stopwaste.org. Popular items include household batteries, old/broken electronics and appliances, furniture, mattresses, syringes, medications, paint, and more.

Used Motor Oil and Oil Filters

The Mr. Funnelhead program shares information on automotive pollution prevention and used motor oil and oil filter recycling. See links below.

Certified Used Oil Collection Sites | MrFunnelhead.com

Curbside Used Oil Filter Collection Services | MrFunnelhead.com

Mercury Thermostat Disposal Resource with Rebate

Do you have an old mercury-containing thermostat in your home? Drop it off at a Thermostat Care partner location with a completed rebate form to receive a mail-in rebate for $30 per mercury thermostat! Find your nearest location here.

Other Vendors that Accept Common HHW items

A detailed list of different vendors that accept specific items (e.g., batteries, fluorescent light bulbs) is available here: Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) | Contra Costa County Recycling, CA.