Common household items such as oil-based paints, cleaners, motor oils, rechargeable batteries, tires, compact florescent light bulbs and pesticides contain hazardous components. The best way to determine if your household waste has hazardous components is to read the labels on products. Labels that use the words danger, warning, caution, toxic, corrosive, flammable or poison identify products that might contain hazardous materials. Leftover portions of these products are called household hazardous waste (HHW).

Reducing the Use of Household Hazardous Waste
For many Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW), there are non-toxic options. For example, you can purchase latex paint instead of oil-based paint, and buy or create your own cleaners that contain vinegar, baking soda, citrus extracts and other non-toxic ingredients. You could also use biologic alternatives to pesticides such as carnivorous ladybugs. Other HHWs have options that are reusable or recyclable.

HHWs, if mishandled, can be dangerous to your health, the health of City staff and the environment. The City of Rockville takes proper disposal of HHW seriously and asks residents to follow the guidelines below when disposing of these materials:

Proper Disposal of HHW

• Never mix HHW with regular solid waste. When in doubt, call the City’s Refuse Division at 240-314-8568.
• Keep HHW in its original labeled container or clearly label the new container.
• Never mix different HHWs into one container.
• Call the City’s Refuse Division, 240-314-8568, to arrange for a free HHW pickup. Be ready to supply your name, address and type of hazardous material to be collected.
• Keep HHW by your door or stoop and off the sidewalk where it can be mistaken for regular trash, tipped over or be attractive to children.

For more information see the City of Rockville’s Guide to Refuse and Recycling.

If you don’t want to wait for a scheduled appointment to dispose of your HHW, you can drop it off at the Montgomery County Transfer Station’s HHW receiving area located at 16101 Frederick Road, Derwood. Its HHW collection area is open from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., daily.

The City and County will NOT accept:

• Explosives, compressed gas cylinders (examples: oxygen, acetylene, carbon dioxide) and shock-sensitive materials Note: Propane and helium tanks are accepted
• Commercial, industrial or medical waste
• Kepones
• Dioxins
• Unknowns (items without any type of identification)
• Radioactive Materials
• Asbestos

Additional resources:

• EPA’s Household Hazardous Waste Information 
• Montgomery County's Household Hazardous Waste Information