What to do with household hazardous waste/material (HHW) in our off-season? That question comes up and we'd like to share some ideas with you. Many of the questions we get after our HHW season ends are related to these materials:
- Batteries
- Electronics
- Paint
- What to do with material just before you move
Batteries
A few general things about batteries:
- Our HHWRC accepts all types of batteries from Summit County residents' homes only; no batteries from business, school or faith-based organizations.
- Never place any battery into your recycling cart at home or in a community recycling drop-off center
- Do not collect batteries from friends and neighbors. Batteries can be dangerous.
Batteries Plus Bulbs stores have a battery recycling program available year-round. There is a charge for their services, but it depends on various factors. Call2Recycle is another tool that you can utilize to find options for recycling batteries. Again, contact these companies directly for details on their service.
Electronics
Please keep in mind, that we do not accept electronics at our Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Center.
We mention electronics in this article because many people have questions about proper end-of-life disposal. Many of the electronics questions we get are about televisions. ReWorks is not aware of free television recycling options.
Please note that Goodwill does not accept any type of television.
Paint
The first step is to identify whether your paint is oil-based or latex. Often it is difficult to identify what type of paint is in a can due to drips and ripped labels. However, if you used water to wash your brushes then your paint is latex. Oil based paint requires mineral spirits or turpentine for clean-up.
Most paint sold today is latex. This is true whether it is exterior or interior paint. If you have latex paint, it simply needs to be dried out. Our Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Center (HHWRC), even when it is open, does not accept latex paint.
Once your latex paint is dry, the can (with the dried paint in it) can be placed into your regular trash. Keep the lid off the can; that way once the dried paint with its can is in your trash, it is clear that the paint is dry. To watch a video on how to dry latex paint, visit the ReWorks YouTube page.
Oil-Based Paints
If you have oil-based paint, our suggestion is to wait until our HHWRC reopens in June. However, if you cannot wait until June, view our Local Recycling Solutions (PDF) for other options.
As a reminder, the HHWRC is available for Summit County residents and accepts oil-based paint at no charge, as long as the material was generated at your home.
If You Are Moving
Many residents (and we thank/appreciate you) want to make sure that they leave their homes perfectly tidy for new owners. One way they do this, is to remove all the household hazardous waste from their homes.
Often, due to the timing of real estate closings, residents move out of houses during the off season of the HHWRC (October through May). If this is the case for you, we suggest leaving these HHW materials with a note for the new homeowners. Please include in the note our ReWorks' phone number (330-374-0383) and a message that they contact us for where to take this material.
We have found this to be a cost-effective solution for most residents. For more information on what services or solutions may be available to non-residents, visit the Businesses and Non-Summit County Residents page.