Household Waste
Household hazardous wastes are household products that can cause injury or are harmful if not used, stored, or disposed of properly.
Many consumer products contain chemicals that may be hazardous to human health or the environment if improperly used, stored, or disposed. These chemicals become hazardous wastes when they are no longer wanted or needed as household products. Unfortunately, household chemicals are frequently washed down drains, poured on the ground outside, or thrown in the trash, where they may ultimately pose risks to human health or the environment. Disposing of household chemicals in the trash may start fires, explode, or react in trash collection trucks, often injuring sanitation workers. Household products may be hazardous because they are flammable, poisonous, corrosive, reactive, explosive, or carcinogenic. Our health may be affected by hazardous products through ingestion, inhaling gases, or absorption through the skin. Hazardous products may effect the environment by contaminating the air, water, and soil.
Household Hazardous Waste - TIPS
The following are steps to reduce the quantity of hazardous waste in your home. Household hazardous products in your home can be harmful and create environmental problems.
DO:
- Read the label. Some products have directions for proper use, storage and disposal on the label.
- Consider safer products. Baking soda makes a good scouring powder. Cedar shavings and aromatic herbs can replace mothballs.
- Choose the least hazardous product and buy only what you need.
- Try to use up the product. If you have some left, give it to a friend or neighbor to be used up.
- Store them carefully. Because many products are dangerous for children and pets, keep products in their original containers.
- Take used motor oil to the City's Recycling Drop-off Centers.
- When purchasing a new car battery, take your used car battery.
- If unsure of disposal procedures for a product, call the Solid Waste Services office or your local TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) office.
DON'T:
- Flush them down the toilet, tub, sink or sewer. This can contaminate our water supply.
- Dump them on the ground. This can contaminate our ground water.
- Burn them.
- Store them where children or pets can reach them.
| HAZARD CATEGORIES | ||
| Flammables and Combustibles: | ||
| Acetone | Fiberglass Resins | Plastic Model Cement |
| Adhesives | Floor/Furniture Polish | Plastic Roof Cement |
| Air freshener | Formaldehyde | Polyurethane Cement |
| Alcohols | Gasoline | Power Steering Fluid |
| Asphalt Driveway Topping | Grease | Roofing Cement |
| Auto Body Filler | Isopropyl Alcohol | Rug/upholstery cleaners |
| Barbecue Lighter Fluid | Kerosene | Sealers |
| Benzene | Lighter Fluid | Spot Removers |
| Brake Fluid | Liquid Waxes | Tile Cement |
| Creosote | Liquid Sandpaper | Tire Black |
| Cutting Oil | Methanol | Toluene/Toluol |
| Dap | Naptha | Wallpaper Cement |
| Diesel Fuel | Neats Foot Oil | WD-40 |
| Denatured Alcohol | Paint Strippers | White Gas |
| Duplicator Fluid | Paraffin Oil | Wood/Tile Putty |
| Ethanol | Perfume | Xylol |
| Ether Starting Fluid | Petroleum Distillates | Xylene |
| Oxidizers: | ||
| Ammonium Nitrate | Fluorine | Nitric Acid |
| Bleach | Hair Coloring | Peroxides |
| Calcium Hypochlorite | Hair Dye | Potassium Permanganate |
| Chlorates | Hydrogen Peroxide | Sodium Hypochlorite |
| Fertilizers/nitrogen based | Iodine | Toilet Bowl Cleaner |
| Poisons: | ||
| Ant & Roach Killer | Dursban | Plant Food |
| Ant-Freeze | Ethylene Glycol | Pruning Paint |
| Bacterial Pipe Cleaner | Flea Spray/Powder | Pyrethrins |
| Baygon | Fungicides | Raid |
| Black Flag | Gopher Killer | Rock Salt |
| Chlordane | Insect Sprays | Rose Dust |
| Chrome-Silver Polishes | Lindane | Round-Up |
| DDT | Malathion | Sevin (dust) |
| Diazinon | Mole Killer | Snail/Slug Killer |
| Dimethylamine Salts | Moth Crystals | Strychnine |
| Disinfectants | "Off" Insect Spray | Tree/Root Stump Killer |
| Dog Repellant | Pharmaceuticals | Windshield Wiper Fluid |
| Heavy Metals: | ||
| Arsenic | Copper Sulfate | Lead Compounds |
| Bordeaux Mix | Lead Arsenate | Mercury |
| Chromium | Lead Compounds | Copper Oil Fungicides |
| Corrosives: (acids) | ||
| Boric Acid | Ferric Chloride | Pool Acid |
| Car Battery Acid | Hydrochloric Acid | Sheep Dip |
| Copper Cleaners/Metal Cleaners | Muriatic Acid | Sodium Bisulphate |
| Disinfectants | Phosphoric Acid | Toilet Bowl Cleaners |
| Corrosives: (bases) | ||
| Ammonia | Cess Pool Cleaners | Oven Cleaners |
| Battery Terminal Cleaner | Drain Cleaners | Sodium Hydroxide |
| Caustic Soda | Lye | |
| Waste Oils for Recycling: | ||
| Motor Oil (drained) | Gear Oil | 2-Cycle Oil |
| Transmission Fluid | ATF | |
| Organic Solvents for Recycling: | ||
| 1,1,1, Trichloroethane | Perchloroethylene | Carburetor Cleaner |
| Methylene Chloride | Carbon Tetrachloride | |
| Other Recyclables: | ||
| Auto Batteries | Motorcycle Batteries | Liquid Mercury |