Universal Waste & Electronic Waste
Many common products that we use in our daily lives contain potentially hazardous ingredients and require special care when disposed of. It is illegal to dispose of hazardous waste in the garbage, down storm drains, or onto the ground. Chemicals in illegally disposed hazardous waste can be released into the environment and contaminate our air, water, and possible the food we eat. And by throwing hazardous waste in the garbage, you can cause additional hazards to your garbage handler.Regulations to protect public health and the environment have been changing. This is because we now know that some common items that have traditionally been thrown in your household’s or small business’ trash cannot be safely disposed in landfills. These common items are referred to as hazardous waste, and some of them as “universal waste” (u-waste). As of February 9, 2006, all “u-waste” items are banned from trash. The bottom line is that we must keep hazardous materials out of the trash by bringing them somewhere to be recycled or safely disposed.
What is banned?
Lights, Batteries, and Electronics
- Fluorescent lamps and tubes. Includes fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lamps, metal halide lamps, and sodium vapor lamps.
- Batteries. Includes all batteries, AAA, AA, C, D, button cell, 9-volt, and all others, both rechargeable and single use. Also, lead-acid batteries such as car batteries.
- Electronic devices. Includes televisions and computer monitors, computers, printers, VCR’s cell phones, telephones, radios, and microwave oven’s.
- Computer and television monitors. Most monitors are currently considered hazardous waste when they have lived their life and are ready for recycling or disposal, including cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal diode (LCD), and plasma monitors.
- Electrical switches and relays. These typically contain about 3.5 grams of mercury each. Mercury switches can be found in some chest freezers, pre-1972 washing machines, sump pumps, electric space heaters, clothes irons, silent light switches, automobile hood and truck lights, and ABS brakes.
- Thermostats that contain mercury. There is a mercury inside the sealed glass “tilt switch” of the old style thermostats (not the newer electronic kind).
- Pilot light sensors. Mercury-containing switches are found in some gas appliances such as stoves, ovens, clothes dryers, water dryers, water heaters, furnaces, and space heaters.
- Mercury gauges. Some gauges, such as barometers, manometers, blood pressure, and vacuum gauges contain mercury.
- Mercury thermometers. Mercury thermometers typically contain about a half gram of mercury.
- Mercury-added novelties. Examples include greeting cards that play music when opened; athletic shoes (made before 1997) with flashing lights in soles; and mercury maze games.
- Compressed gas cylinders. Includes propane tanks used for BBQ or plumbing.
- PCB-containing materials. Includes paint and ballasts that contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB).
- Photo waste (silver bearing).
- Nonempty aerosol cans that contain hazardous materials. Many products in aerosol cans are toxic. And many aerosol cans contain flammables, like butane, as propellants for products like paint. If your aerosol can is labeled with words like TOXIC or FLAMMABLE don’t put it in the trash unless it is completely empty.
