By The Junk Lord · Updated
What counts as household hazardous waste
Half a can of deck stain. A jug of weed killer from two owners ago. Pool shock that set up like a brick. Plenty of garage cleanouts turn up a shelf like that, and it's the one shelf we leave behind.
Paint, chemicals, asbestos, propane tanks and liquids of any kind are on our won't-haul list. So this post is the honest answer to where that stuff goes instead. For household hazardous waste disposal in York County, the main route is a pair of collection days the county runs every year.
The York County Solid Waste Authority defines it as common household products that are hazardous by nature but aren't regulated as hazardous waste under federal and state law. Its own examples are oil-based paint, bleach and weed killer.[1]
In practice that covers most of what lives under the sink, in the garage and in the pool shed: cleaners, fuels, solvents, stains, garden chemicals, pool chemicals and vehicle fluids.[2]
York County's two collection days
Twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall, YCSWA runs a household hazardous waste collection. They run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. behind the Recycling Drop-Off Center at 2685 Blackthorne Court in York, and they're free for York County residents. Registration is required, so don't just show up with a trunk full of cans.[1][3]
Event dates are posted on ycswa.com each year.[1][2]
Accepted at the events:[2]
- Flammables such as fuels, solvents and stains, plus driveway sealant[2]
- Household cleaners, garden chemicals, pool chemicals and photo chemicals[2]
- Vehicle fluids[2]
- Fluorescent bulbs and ballasts, and mercury devices[2]
- Undamaged rechargeable batteries, e-cigarettes and vapes[2]
- Some pressurized tanks: acetylene, helium, oxygen, and propane tanks that are larger or smaller than the 20-pound grill size[2]
What the events turn away, and what to do instead
The events don't take business waste, alkaline batteries, car batteries, damaged rechargeables, asbestos, electronics, ammunition, firearms or explosives, fire extinguishers, regular or LED bulbs, latex paint, medical waste, medications, 20-pound propane tanks, radioactive material, or smoke and CO detectors.[2]
A few of those have easy answers from the county:[2]
- Latex paint: donate it if it's still good. If not, mix it with kitty litter or shredded paper until the liquid is soaked up, seal the lid, bag it tightly and put it out with regular trash.[2]
- Alkaline batteries: regular trash.[2]
- Car batteries: take them back to a store that sells car batteries.[2]
- TVs and computers: these aren't hazardous waste, they're electronics. York County residents can recycle them at no charge at the Resource Recovery Center.[4]
If you can't wait for the next event
York County residents can also bring household hazardous waste to the Resource Recovery Center year-round along with other household waste, but a fee applies. Off-limits there: pool chemicals, rechargeable batteries, mercury devices, pressurized gas tanks, flares, weapons, ammunition and radioactive material. Fuel is limited to one gallon per visit and fluorescent bulbs or tubes to five.[1]
Pennsylvania DEP allows household hazardous waste in the regular trash only when there's no collection program to use. Even then, liquids need to be evaporated or soaked up with cat litter, vermiculite or sawdust, the leftovers packed so nothing leaks, and the whole lot spread out in small amounts across several pickups.[5]
Lancaster and Adams counties
Lancaster County residents have it easier. LCSWMA operates a weekday household hazardous waste facility at 1299 Harrisburg Pike that's free if you live in Lancaster County and closed to everyone else. It takes adhesives, automotive fluids, car batteries, fire extinguishers, fuels, cleaners, lawn and pool chemicals, mercury items, liquid paint, stains and thinners, and propane tanks 20 pounds or smaller. It does not accept waste from businesses. LCSWMA sends Dauphin County folks to their own county's recycling center for answers.[6][7]
Over in Adams County, there's no county-run collection for any of this. Its 2019 waste plan points anyone with a big stash of old paint across the line to York County's Resource Recovery Center.[8]
Where we fit in
Here's how it usually works on a cleanout. Pull the chemicals, paint and propane onto one table or one corner of the garage and leave them there. We take everything else: the rusted shelving, the cracked kiddie pool, the boxes, the old fridge. You make one trip to the collection day with what's left, or hold it for the next one.
Text William a few photos of the garage or basement and he'll tell you what we can haul and what needs to go to the county.