Household Hazardous Wastes
(970) 498-5771
(970) 498-5770 (24-hour information line)Customers: Take our short survey!
What is Household Hazardous Waste?
Household hazardous waste (HHW) is any substance containing ingredients that could negatively affect your safety, health or the environment. Signal words found on hazardous products include poison, danger, warning and caution. They can be found on a wide range of products, including furniture polish, bleach, antifreeze, insecticides, paint, mothballs and much more. Also look for indications of hazardous properties on the label. Such properties are defined by the Environmental Hazards Management Institute as follows:
- Toxic: can cause injury or death if swallowed, absorbed or inhaled
- Flammable: easily catches fire and tends to burn rapidly
- Corrosive: a chemical or its vapors that can cause a material or living tissue to be destroyed
- Explosive: violently bursting when exposed to pressure or heat
- Irritant: causes soreness or swelling of the skin, eyes, mucous membranes or respiratory system
Another hazardous property you may see on a label is reactive. This means the product contains chemicals that, if combined with certain other substances, could result in hazardous reactions such as gaseous emissions or explosions.
Why can't I just throw HHW away with the trash?
Dumping unused portions of household hazardous wastes in the trash or down the drain can cause safety and environmental problems. If buried in the landfill, chemicals can react and cause explosions or make their way into the groundwater. While the county strictly monitors the landfill's groundwater and gas emissions, and acts quickly to rectify any problems found, it sure is easier to prevent such problems from occurring in the first place by properly disposing of or recycling hazardous wastes.So please act responsibly! Bring your unwanted HHW to the county's hazardous waste collection facility at the landfill. It's free!
Household hazardous wastes like pesticides, paint thinners and household cleaning supplies are accepted at the Collection Facility:
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.All hazardous waste brought to the Collection Facility must be in a labeled, non-leaking container that can be left at the site.
The County opened the Rocky Mountain region's first permanent household hazardous waste collection facility in 1989. In 1990, a second site was opened at the Estes Park Transfer Station. (This site only accepts paint.) Since that time, more than 17 million pounds of household hazardous wastes have been diverted from the landfill.
The main Collection Facility is located at the Larimer County Landfill south of Fort Collins on Taft Hill Road, or north of Loveland on Wilson Ave. See map.
Examples of Materials Accepted:
Acids Dioxin Pesticides Lubricants Rug/Upholstery Adhesives Disinfectants Moth Balls/flakes Cleaners Aerosols Drain Cleaners Nail Polish/Remover Rust Solvents Airplane glue Dry Gas Oven Cleaners Silvex (pesticide) Antifreeze Fiberglass Resins Paints (oil based/latex) Spot Removers Auto Batteries Flea Products Paint Removers Toilet Bowl Cleaner Batteries (other) Furniture Polish Paint Thinners Tub/Tile Cleaners Brake Fluid Hair Removers Pesticides Turpentine Cements Herbicides Photo Chemicals Varnish Chemistry Sets Hobby Chemicals Pool Chemicals Waste Fuels Chlorine Inks Propane Cylinders (up to 30#) Weed Killers Cleaning Fluids Insecticides Rat Poisons Wood Preservatives Corrosives Insect Repellents Rubber Cements Wood Stains Degreasers Lacquers
Do Not Bring the Following Unacceptable Materials: Paint and Used Motor Oil
- Asbestos Material (Call 498-5771 for disposal information).
- Explosives - Shock sensitive materials such as dynamite, ammunition, picric acid, fireworks, and firearms. (Call the Sheriff's Dept. at 498-5100).
- Pathological wastes
- Known PCB wastes.
- Radioactives - includes smoke detectors.
- Larimer County reserves the right to refuse any material that is unacceptable by the managing site staff.
Used motor oil and paint generated through household use are accepted for disposal any time the landfill is open. You must be able to pour the oil from your container into our tank. Crankcase oil, motor oil and transmission fluid are accepted in the oil tank. Contaminated oil or brake fluid must be taken to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility.
Empty paint cans are considered non-hazardous and can be put in your normal trash. Discard the lids and let the paint remaining inside the cans completely dry up, then you can place them in the trash.
Car batteries are also accepted for recycling at the landfill any time during business hours at no charge. Nickel cadmium or lithium batteries should be brought to the collection facility. Alkaline dry cell batteries, or flashlight batteries, can also be brought to our facility for recycling.
Fluorescent bulbs, including compact fluorescents, contain mercury and should not be thrown away in the trash. Instead, bring them to our facility during regular open hours and we'll recycle or dispose of them properly. For businesses disposing of these bulbs, the process is a bit different. Also, read these guidelines [pdf] for what to do if a fluorescent bulb breaks.
Sharps (Hypodermic Needles) and Personal Medications
The hazardous waste facility accepts used hypodermic needles from county residents who self-medicate. Many people throw used needles—often called “sharps”—into their regular trash. Unfortunately, this disposal method puts landfill and trash hauler employees at risk from needle sticks. Instead, we encourage county residents to bring used sharps to our facility on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays ONLY between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. No fees are charged. Sharps must be brought in an OSHA-approved sharps container, which can be purchased from most local drug stores. Needles brought in any other containers or loose needles will not be accepted. More information is available in our brochure. [pdf]
County residents can drop off leftover personal medications at any time during regular hours. Recent research is finding that some medications disposed of by flushing down toilets or drains may have harmful effects on fish and other aquatic life, so please dispose of pharmaceuticals responsibly.
The Drop 'N' Swap is a favorite among County residents. Through the Drop 'N' Swap, we offer usable, low-toxicity products under our "Buy none, get one free" policy.
Here's how it works: Say you need about half a gallon of latex paint, a little bit of copper cleaner, just enough pesticide to kill a pesky patch of weeds, and campstove fuel to get through the weekend. Chances are we have all these items and more. Just stop by the Hazardous Waste Facility, pick up what you want, and let us thank you on the way out.
About 30,000 pounds of hazardous household products are reused through the Drop 'N' Swap program each year, keeping them out of the landfill and out of groundwater. The best way to dispose of chemicals is to use them up as they were originally intended to be used, which is just what this program does. And, of course, it's free!
The Drop 'N' Swap is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility offers tours to the public. Schools, boy/girl scout troops, businesses, or anyone else who may be interested in finding out more about the operation may call 498-5760 to set up a tour of the facility.
For more information on hazardous wastes call 498-5760 between 8 and 4:30 Monday through Friday.
Other sites that deal with Household Hazardous Waste:
- Larimer County Solid Waste HHW Fact Sheets
- EPA's Universal Waste Rule
- King County, Washington's Hazardous Waste Program
- Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency
- National Electrical Manufacturers Association
- National Paint and Coatings Association
- New Jersey Association of Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators
- Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection
- Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
- Tempe's Household Products Collection Program
