After the holidays, there’s always an abundance of e-waste, whether that’s used or aging cell phones, old TVs and radios that people never thought to throw out, or old printers that no longer work, according to the workers at the household hazardous waste collection facility in Anaheim. If you’re unsure of where or how to dispose of your e-waste (or household cleaning supplies, pool chemicals, paint, thinner, thermometers or any old fluorescent light bulbs or depleted lithium/car batteries, for that matter), the Orange County Waste and Recycling (OCWR) workers down at the HHWCC (Anaheim Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center)  welcomes you to stop by.

For Orange County residents, household hazardous waste disposal is free. In fact, it’s free at four different collection centers located throughout the County: there’s one in Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Irvine and San Juan Capistrano. Situated at the corner of East La Palma Avenue and North Blue Gum Street, the Anaheim HHWCC is the closest collection center for Fullerton and North Orange County residents. In late December, I had a chance to tour the Anaheim facility and interview  Thomas Koutroulis, Director for OC Waste & Recycling, and Jesus Perez, Household Hazardous Waste Programs Manager, about what’s considered  household hazardous waste, what residents can and cannot bring to the County’s HHW centers, how the collection centers operate, and how residents can get free paint, cleaning supplies and other items from the County’s material exchange program.

Putting on a bright orange vest so that I didn’t get hit by an incoming car, I walked with Jesus Perez through the Anaheim waste collection center, where the various hazardous materials were boxed up in different containers. I also rode with Francine Bangert, Public Communications Officer at OC Waste & Recycling, as she waited in a long line of cars near the center’s closing time to dispose of a bucket of batteries. Buckets are free and available at any of the County’s household hazardous waste collection centers. Attendants wearing blue gloves asked her what city she was coming from before taking the batteries and sending her on her way.

“Improperly disposed of household hazardous waste poses risks to both the environment and the workers who handle it,” said Koutroulis. “Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients are considered to be household hazardous waste. Products, such as paints, cleaning solvents, oils, batteries, and pesticides that contain potentially hazardous ingredients require special care when you dispose of them.”

Koutroulis and Perez explained that improper disposal of household hazardous waste can include pouring it down the drain, onto the ground, into storm sewers, or, in some cases, putting it out with the trash. I learned that while the dangers of these types of disposal methods might not be immediately obvious, improper disposal of these wastes can pollute the environment and pose a threat to human health.

“The County of Orange started the household hazardous waste collection facilities in the early Nineties. Part of that was due to population growth and increasing regulations on how waste is managed…So we have landfills in the County that we manage and oversee, which handle all residential waste. However, a fraction of that waste cannot come into the landfill and needs to be managed properly, so that’s why the facilities were opened: to divert household hazardous waste to these facilities to be disposed of or recycled,” explained Koutroulis.

“We don’t accept commercial hazardous waste here, and so it’s just residential household hazardous waste  that we accept, but we also take e-waste and sharps as well,” said Jesus Perez, who manages the County’s HHW programs. “For e-waste, remember to remove data before disposal.” Sharps refers to hypodermic needles, pen needles, intravenous needles, and lancets.

Perez stressed that residents are not allowed to bring any explosive devices, ammunition, marine flares  or other incendiary devices. Koutroulis told me not to  bring medical waste (outside of sharps), asbestos, biological waste, unused pharmaceuticals and controlled substances, radioactive materials, tires, high-pressure cylinders, such as acetylene, oxygen, and air tanks, or chemically treated wood items to HHW collection centers.

Koutroulis said, “When coming to a household hazardous waste center, it’s a very simple process. Residents place their household hazardous waste in the trunk of their vehicle. As they come into the facility, they follow the signs and directions of the employees and staff on site. As they pull up, they will stop their car, simply open their trunk. They will need to provide the city from which the material is coming, so that info can be logged. And then the attendant will take the HHW out of their vehicle, while the resident stays in the convenience of their car… Once it’s removed, the attendant will shut the trunk and let the resident go on their way.”

“We have an agreement with Clean Harbors, which is our contractor that actually oversees the facilities and ensures the right documentation for receiving the waste and makes sure it is segregated and it goes to a few different locations,” explained Koutroulis. “In some cases, it will go to a Class 1 landfill, which is basically designed to receive and maintain hazardous waste to perpetuity, and it has special permits. It can go to an incinerator to be destroyed, since some of the chemicals are destroyed by incineration, and in some cases, they can be recycled. One thing that we do recycle here are batteries and paint. So, some of the material that does come in can be recycled.”

“We also have a materials exchange program,” said Perez. “People are cleaning out their garages during the holidays or over the weekends, and they bring in a container of paint or cleaning solvent, it gets inspected, and if it meets a certain standard, it can actually go on the shelf for the material exchange program. Other residents, as they come to drop off hazardous material, have access to this free material, whether it’s paint or cleaning agent, and can take and use it for free.”

Through OCWR’s material exchange program, I learned that residents can choose up to five items per week from a selection of partially used containers of household, yard and car care products.
Anaheim’s HHW Collection  Center and all other Orange County HHWC locations are open from 9 am to 3 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, and closed on major holidays and rainy days.

For more information, call 714-834-4000 or visit oclandfills.com/hazardous-waste.