HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

Household hazardous wastes are any materials that may cause a human or environmental hazard when disposed of improperly. These wastes can cause serious threats to humans, wildlife, and the environment.

Products such as pesticides, herbicides, bleach, cleaners, fertilizers and auto fluids (used oil, latex paint, antifreeze, gas carburetor fluid, etc.) should never be poured down the drain or dumped on the ground, into storm drains, or in the trash. Vacaville's Household Hazardous Waste facility, located at the Recology Vacaville Solano Recycling Facility, accepts all household toxics for FREE disposal to Vacaville, Dixon and Unincorporated Solano County residents.

No appointment is necessary to drop off household hazardous waste. A photo ID and proof of residence (driver’s license or a Recology bill) are required.

For more information, visit Recology Household Hazardous Waste

ACCEPTABLE MATERIALS
These are some of the common items accepted at Recology’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility.
If you are unsure of how to dispose of a specific item, visit www.whatbin.com

  • Aerosol cans
  • Antifreeze
  • Automotive batteries
  • Bleach & household cleaners
  • Brake fluid
  • Caulking
  • Cooking oil
  • Drain Cleaner
  • E-Waste (computers, TV’s, etc.)
  • Fertilizer
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Floor stripper
  • Fluorescent lamps
  • Garden chemicals
  • Gasoline
  • Household batteries
  • Insect sprays
  • Medical sharps in containers
  • Mercury waste
  • Motor oil & oily rags
  • Paint products & polishes
  • Paint stripper & thinner
  • Pool chemicals & chlorine
  • Propane, Freon, Helium & oxygen cylinders
  • Printer/toner cartridges
  • Smoke detectors
  • Thermometers
  • Used oil filters
  • Weed killers
  • Windshield washer fluid

NOTE: Under California state law, residents can only transport up to 15 gallons or 125 pounds of material at a time to the household hazardous waste facility.



UNACCEPTED MATERIALS
These items are not accepted at the Recology Household Hazardous Waste facility

  • Ammunition
  • Large appliances (Learn more about our Bulk Item Pickup service)
  • Garbage
  • Tires
  • Explosives
  • Radioactive waste

CURBSIDE MOTOR OIL & FILTER RECYCLING

When used motor oil is dumped on the ground, poured down the drain or placed in garbage cans, it can pollute your water supply, endangering the health of your family and neighbors. It is illegal to discard used oil and filters; they must be taken to a collection center or collected through Vacaville's curbside used oil and filter collection service.

CURBSIDE COLLECTION

To have your used oil picked up curbside, please call Recology Vacaville Solano at 448-2945 to request a free oil jug and filter bag. Once you receive the bag, put your used oil in the jug and your filter (drained) in the bag. Place the jug and bag next to your blue recycle bin or your green yard waste bin on your regular garbage collection day. The driver will leave you an empty filter bag and oil jug for your next oil change. Please put only used oil in your jug and be sure to drain your filter completely before placing it in the bag.

CERTIFIED USED OIL COLLECTION CENTERS

CalRecycle encourages the recycling of used motor oil by certifying used oil recycling collection centers throughout the state. Certified Used Oil Collection Centers will take uncontaminated used motor oil from the public and will pay you 40¢ a gallon.

Please note that under California state law, residents may transport up to 55 gallons of used oil at one time, and no container may be greater than 5 gallons in size, regardless of content. Most centers will take up to 5 gallons at a time but privately owned Collection Centers may have additional limitations and specifications. Call the Center you wish to use to inquire about specifications and quantity limits.

For a list of used oil and filter collection centers, please visit Solano County's website.

BATTERY DISPOSAL

As electronics become more and more popular, the use of batteries grows. It becomes increasingly important for consumers to be aware of the threat of improper battery disposal. It's estimated that households alone discard over 200 million pounds of batteries each year into our landfill. These same batteries over time will break open and leak their contents into our soils, with pollutants eventually ending up in our creeks and other water sources. By disposing of batteries properly, you can help keep these dangerous elements from causing harm to humans, wildlife, and the environment.

Recology Vacaville Solano offers free curbside collection of used batteries. Recology customers may place their household batteries (e.g. rechargeable, alkaline, button) inside a tightly sealed bag and place the bag on top of their gray garbage bin for collection on your regular collection day. For safety, please tape over the contact points of each lithium battery – look for “Lithium” or “Li” on most button and rechargeable batteries.

Nickel-cadmium batters must be labeled “nickel-cadmium” or “Ni-Cd”, with the phrase “BATTERY MUST BE RECYCLED OR DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.”

You may also take your batteries to the Recology Vacaville Solano Hazardous Waste Facility located at 855 ½ Davis Street on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information on how to safely use and dispose of household and automotive batteries, visit CalRecycle.

PHARMACEUTICAL WASTE

It is important to properly dispose of unused prescription medications and other pharmaceutical waste to ensure that it does not end up in the hands of kids, on the streets, or in our waterways.

IMPROPER DISPOSAL IS HARMFUL

Please do not flush medication down the toilet. Even the most advanced wastewater treatment processes cannot remove most pharmaceutical compounds from the water. In March 2002, the United States Geological Society conducted a nationwide study of surface waters. Of the 139 streams sampled, 80% of the water samples had small but measurable concentrations of prescription and nonprescription drugs, steroids, and reproductive hormones.

If the medication is thrown away, it is collected, compressed and sent to the landfill where over time it decomposes, and rain and moisture leach from the landfill into groundwater or local streams polluting local water sources. Unwanted medicine disposed in the trash can also be stolen and used, potentially resulting in illness or death.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

The City of Vacaville Utilities Division, Water Quality, in cooperation with the Vacaville Police Department and the City of Vacaville Recycling Program tries to hold one day collection events about twice a year. At these events, residents can bring their expired or unwanted medications for safe and secure disposal. It is best to remove or black out any information on the medication bottles or even remove the medications from the bottles or blister packs. Please note, these events DO NOT collect illegal substances.

If for some reason you are unable to wait for an upcoming event, many pharmacies offer safe disposal options for customers. Reach out to your local pharmacy to inquire.

For questions about upcoming drug take-back days, please call the City of Vacaville Recycling Coordinator at (707) 469-6509 or visit Drug Take Back

HHW REUSE PROGRAM

The Reuse Center is located at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 855 ½ Davis Street and is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Vacaville offers a reuse program in which residents can select from a variety of free useful household products such as paints, automotive products, cleaners, and garden chemicals. When products that are nearly new are dropped off at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility, they are redistributed through the Reuse Center to other residents for free.

PAINT

It’s more convenient than ever to recycle paint in California. Since the start of the California paint stewardship program on October 19, 2012, PaintCare has set up 650 drop-off sites in California where the public can take unwanted, leftover paint for recycling. Most of these sites are at paint retailers (paint, hardware, and home improvement stores) that have volunteered to take back paint, and they are available to any resident and business in California. These stores accept paint whenever they are open for business.

For California Paint Stewardship program see PaintCare California

For Paint Product Management see CalReycle

Vacaville PaintCare locations:

  • Recology Vacaville Solano Household Hazardous Waste Center
    855 1/2 Davis Street, Vacaville, CA 95687
    OPEN: Saturday 9:00am to 3:00pm.
    Call hours Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm
    707-448-2945

STORM DRAIN AWARENESS

While driving through town you may notice some eye catching storm drain markers on the fronts of curbs. These round green and blue curb markers are part of The City of Vacaville's storm drain awareness campaign. The markers feature the message "Drains to Waterways." This message serves to remind residents that everything that is swept or poured into a storm drain inlet will eventually end up in our local water supply. Unlike sewers, storm drains are not connected to a treatment plant, therefore water that enters a storm drain goes directly into our creeks with no treatment. The introduction of hazardous waste into our storm drain system can have very serious impacts to humans, wildlife, and the environment.

The purchase of these curb markers was made possible by the receipt of a used oil recycling grant from the CalRecycle. The state hopes that the funding of these markers will assist in educating residents that the storm drain is no place for dumping chemicals such as used automotive oil.

Please dispose of hazardous waste responsibly by taking it to Recology Vacaville Solano’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility located at 855 ½ Davis Street. The Household Hazardous Waste Facility is open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and no appointment is needed. For more information about this facility, please contact Recology Vacaville Solano at (707) 448-2945 or visit Recology Vacaville Online.


Did You Know?

Used oil is the single largest source (over 40%) of water pollution in the U.S. harbor and water ways.


Ethylene glycol, the major component of antifreeze is poisonous in concentrated form to people, fish, birds and pets. In addition to ethylene glycol, used antifreeze contains heavy metal contaminants it picks up from the engine during use. If you have a vehicle that is leaking antifreeze or oil, please put a drip tray under your car to catch the leaks. Clean up driveway stains with kitty litter and a broom. Hosing off the driveway will wash the chemicals into the storm drain.


Soap suds from washing your car, rinse water from painting, pet waste, pesticides, plastics and yard waste can all cause environmental problems when disposed of in a storm drains. Wash vehicles at a commercial car wash that treats its waste water. Make sure contractors clean up responsibly and avoid washing paint brushes and other tools in the gutter.

Looking for Commercial Hazardous Waste Information?

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Recology Household
Hazardous Waste Facility

855 1/2 Davis St.
Vacaville CA, 95687
OPEN: Saturdays 9:00a-3:00p
For more information call
707-448-2945