Recycling: Household Hazardous Waste
Disposing of Unsafe Materials
For your convenience, we host special collection days on the first Saturday of each month from 9:00 – Noon (with the exception of January and July). If you cannot attend a special collection event, please call Eddie Spencer 785.286.4381. You can visit the Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 131 Northeast 46th Street (just one block East of 46th & Topeka Boulevard).
Are you aware that several common products around your home could be hazardous to your health and to our clean water supply if handled improperly? When many common household products such as cleaners, paint, or used oil are thrown in the trash, down the storm drain or on the ground, they eventually contaminate our rivers and lakes. One gallon of oil can contaminate one million gallons of water!
Here are some simple tips:
- Buy only what you can use immediately. Buy smaller quantities.
- Use what you buy. Proper use is often the best way to get rid of it.
- If you can't use it, find a neighbor who can.
- Recycle if you can.
- Look for non-hazardous alternatives, such as vinegar and baking soda for cleaning.
- Store hazardous materials safely away.
By clicking on the below links to Google Maps, you will effectively leave the County site and access information to help you locate our recycling locations. Shawnee County does not endorse or control the content of that site and your access to their service is by choice and you agree to accept the results and any liability related to the same.
Materials to Bring
(Bring in original containers if possible)
- Paints, all kinds (Keep in labeled cans so it can be reused)
- Weed, pest & insect control products
- Lacquers, thinners, stains
- Used motor oil (bring in leakproof containers)
- Solvents, mineral spirits, aerosol
- Household cleaners, including drain, toilet & oven cleaners
- Spot and stain removers
- Fertilizers containing nitrogen
- Waxes & Polishes
- Medicines
- Fluorescent Tubes and CFL Bulbs
- Most anything you would find in a typical garage or barn.
Materials to Keep
We cannot effectively manage the disposal of these materials.
- Explosives or Ammunition
- Pressurized gas cylinders
- Infectious Waste
- Radioactive Material
- Unidentified Materials (meaning no labels)
- Materials forbidden for shipment by the US Dept of Transportation
Please call the Kansas Dept of Health and Environment at 296-1667 or 296-1613 for confidential assistance in disposing of these materials
Save for Hazardous Waste Disposal
These are items to bring to household waste facility.
From the House
- Aerosol Cans
- Drain Cleaners
- Oven Cleaners
- Wood & Metal Cleaners or Polishers
- Toilet Bowl Cleaners
- Disinfectants
- Fingernail Polish Removers
- General Purpose Cleaners
Automotive & Garage
- Oil & Fuel Additives (can be recycled)
- Grease & Rust Solvents
- Carburetor & Fuel Injection Cleaners
- Starter Fluids
- Waxes, Polishes & Cleaners
- Automotive Batteries (can be recycled)
From the Workshop
- Paints
- Stains
- Varnishes
- Sealants
- Paint Thinners
- Paint Strippers & Removers
Farm & Garden
- Herbicides
- Pesticides
- Rat Poisons
Miscellaneous
- Pool Chemicals
- Photo Processing Chemicals
- Fluorescent Tubes and CFL Bulbs
Preparing for Collection Days
- Inventory all your hazardous materials and set aside those to be taken to the collection facility.
- Check all containers, make sure lids are on tight.
- Keep all materials in original containers if possible. Do not let latex paint and waste oil contaminate each other - transport them in separate boxes.
- Pack leaking or flimsy containers in a plastic bag and pack each in a box with kitty litter or newspapers to control leaks. Label the contents on outside of box.
- Transport materials in your car trunk, rear of your station wagon, van, SUV, or truck bed.