Mountain Waste & Recycling Residential Garbage Collection

Mountain Waste & Recycling Hazardous Materials for Garbage Collection

Hazardous Material

Items You Can Not Throw In the Trash

Chemicals

Strong household cleaners like bleach, pesticides, solvents and corrosive chemicals should never go in the trash. Chemicals should always be treated with extreme care because of their potentially harmful impacts to the land, water and humans they come into contact with. If you’re not going to use them up, take them to a household hazardous waste drop-off for safe disposal.

Batteries

Although small, batteries like AAA, AA, C, D, button cell, 9-volt, and others, contain large amounts of cadmium, mercury, and lead. Tossing your batteries in the trash sends them to the landfill where their casing can disintegrate, releasing their chemicals, sometimes in large amounts.

Car Batteries

Like small batteries, lead-acid car batteries, as well as lithium batteries, should not go in the trash either because of their contained chemicals. Televisions Old tube, LED, LCD, OLED televisions should not be put in trash cans or dumpsters either.

Televisions

These contain toxic chemicals like lead, mercury, nickel, cadmium, and more. These chemicals are detrimental to human and environmental health, and they need to be dealt with safely

Computers & Monitors

Most computers and monitors are considered hazardous waste. They’re chock full of toxic chemicals like arsenic, lead and cadmium. Also consider that throwing away your computer, with your hard drive in tact could put your personal information at risk.

Cell Phones & Other Electronic Devices

Cell phones, printers, VCRs, telephones, and radios don’t belong in a landfill. Most cell phones and other electronics contain precious metals and plastics that can be recycled to save energy and resources that would otherwise be required to mine or manufacture these materials. When placed in a landfill, these materials pollute the air, contaminate soil, damage animal and plant life and can impact our food supply and drinking water.

Microwaves

Although microwaves aren’t considered e-waste, parts of old microwaves can still be hazardous because they use a capacitor that contains a residual electrical charge. Taking old or broken microwaves to scrap metal or recycling companies can lessen their impact on the environment.

Refrigerators

Refrigerators should not be thrown in a dumpster because of the refrigerant they contain Freon.

Hazardous Materials

You should never throw commonly known hazardous materials like asbestos, pesticides, contaminated soils or absorbents in the trash. These materials are dangerous when exposed to the soil or water. Take extreme care when disposing of these hazardous materials.

Medical Needles & Sharps

Medical waste, as well as needles and sharps, should never be thrown away in a normal trash. They can contain bacteria and diseases that shouldn’t have a chance to come in contact with anyone after disposal. Medical waste should be put in special containers like a “sharps disposal container.” Unused or Expired Prescription Drugs Prescription drugs should not be thrown away because their chemicals can leach into the soil and water supply, where they can wreak havoc with the environment.

Paint and Solvents

There is a large amount of oil and chemicals in most paints — that’s the main reason you shouldn’t throw them away in the dumpster. Paint becomes a problem for the environment when it leaks and contaminates the water supply. Empty paint cans can usually be tossed as well dried paint. If you still have fresh paint, find a way to dry it such as mixing it with cat litter. When it’s dry, you can throw it away.

Propane Bottles or Cylinders

Compressed gas cylinders and combustible gas cannot be placed any trash container.