Household Hazardous Waste Disposal
Easy and safe ways to dispose of your Household Hazardous Waste
Antifreeze
Animals love the taste, will drink it, and poison themselves. Take antifreeze to our Hazmat collections or take it to Pep Boy’s. They will dispose it for free if it’s in its original container or tightly sealed milk jug.
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL's)
A CFL bulb is a type of light bulb that screws into a standard light socket, such as a lamp or ceiling light fixture and looks somewhat like an ice cream cone. CFLs use much less energy, last up to 10 times longer than standard light bulbs and are therefore very green! However, a CFL bulb has a very small amount of mercury contained in it. Mercury is a hazardous waste and broken CFL's should be cleaned carefully (but you don't need a hazardous waste team to come to your house!) Call Keep Rio Rancho Beautiful or see
http://www.health.state.nm.us/eheb/rep/metals/Hg%20lights.pdf for directions. Unbroken CFL's can be taken to Home Depot for free disposal.
Motor Oil
Poured down drains or dumped on the ground, motor oil will work its way into our aquifer and eventually your water. It can contain lead, benzene, zinc, and magnesium, which are fine to consume if you are a car, but terrible for the living. Like antifreeze, motor oil can go to Pep Boy’s or Jiffy Lube. Make sure the oil is not contaminated with any solvents or materials.
Remember You DUMP It You DRINK It.
www.epa.gov/epaoswer
Tires
1. Diseased animals will lurk in tires. 2. When lit, tires burn like crazy and smoke up the air with harmful pollutants. Any time you get new tires at a tire business, ask that business to dispose of your old ones. It’s easy. It only costs a few dollars, and they will be recycled! Friend, this is friendlier than stuffing them into the landfill. You can also bring tires (limit 4, passenger vehicle tires only) to our Household Hazardous Waste or America Recycles Day collections.
Paint
You can let latex paints dry out and toss them in the garbage; it’s plastic and won’t harm you or the landfill. Oil paints, however, will. They give off toxic fumes that you don’t want to breathe. Bring them to our Household Hazardous Waste collections. If you purchased paint before 1980, chances are its lead-based and hazardous. Also bring these to our Household Hazardous Waste collections.
Glue
If you have glue and it’s a toxic kind of glue, then it’s giving off toxic fumes. Many types of glue are also famous for their flammability. Bring all glues to our Household Hazardous Waste collections.
Batteries
See the Battery Recycling page under Recycling for information on how to properly dispose of batteries.
For more information...
National Poison Control Centers 1-800-222-1222
http://ww.earth911.org
* Household Hazardous Waste collections are held three times a year, in the Fall, Spring and Summer. Call us for more information and specific dates.
*America Recycles Day collections are held the first Saturday of the month in November and March at the Wal-mart on Unser & Southern in Rio Rancho.