Material Category Types and Disposal Methods

Material Category/Type

Flammable and Poison

  • Flammable solids/liquids:
    • Flammable solids (bulked and lab packed): Asbestos-containing organic resins, non-asbestos-containing organic resins, roofing tar, putty, adhesives, paint sludge.
    • Flammable liquids (lab packed only): Organic solvents, chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents, gasoline, alcohol, paint thinner, acetone
  • Bulked flammable liquids: Flammable liquids (bulked only): Organic solvents, chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents, gasoline, alcohol, paint thinner, acetone
  • Oil-based paints: Oil-based paint
  • Poisons:
    • Organic poisons, dioxin precursors, pesticides, herbicides.
    • Inorganic poisons, mercury-containing poisons, inorganic cyanides, arsenic compounds, solutions containing regulated heavy metals.
    • Snail bait, poisonous solids, may include asbestos
  • Reactive and explosive: Water reactive compounds, such as sodium metal, calcium carbide, amides, hydrides
  • Compressed gas cylinders: Includes tanks that may contain helium, propane, Freon, acetylene, oxygen, etc.

PCB-containing

  • PCB-containing paint: PCB-containing paint
  • Other PCB waste (includes ballasts): Transformer oil, PCB ballasts

Reclaimable

  • Antifreeze: Antifreeze
  • Auto type batteries (motor vehicles): Car, truck, motorcycle batteries
  • Latex paint: Latex paint
  • Motor oil/oil products: Used motor oil, brake fluid, transmission fluid
  • Used oil filters (recyclables only): Used oil filters
  • Other reclaimable: None

Universal Waste (UW)

  • Mercury containing automatic switches/thermometers/and novelties: Broken thermometers
  • Mercury containing waste (other): Liquid mercury vials
  • Lamps: Waste electric lamps include, but are not limited to, fluorescent, high intensity discharge, neon, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium, and metal halide lamps
  • Rechargeable batteries: Rechargeable household batteries
  • Other batteries: All types of non-rechargeable household batteries
  • Aerosol cans: Aerosol containers
  • Other UW: None

Electronic Devices (UW)

  • Covered electronic devices: Most video display devices containing a screen greater than four inches.
  • Other electronic devices: Computers, computer peripherals, telephones, answering machines, radios, stereo equipment, tape players/recorders, phonographs, video cassette players/recorders, compact disc players/recorders, calculators, and some appliances

Acid

  • Inorganic and organic acid: Inorganic acids, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid. Organic acids, acetic acid, citric acid, butyric acid

Base

  • Inorganic and organic base:
    • Inorganic bases, sodium hydroxide, lye, ammonia based cleaners.
    • Organic bases, organo-amines

Oxidizer

  • Neutral oxidizers, Organic peroxides, Oxidizing acid/base:
    • Neutral oxidizers: Manganese peroxide, hydrogen peroxide, sodium bromate, sodium perchlorate, sodium chronate, ammonium dichromate, sodium iodate, sodium nitrate, potassium permanganate.
    • Organic peroxides: Ketone peroxides, benzoyl peroxide.
    • Oxidizing acid: Nitric acid, chronic acid, molybdic acid, perchloric acid, pholphomolybdic acid.
    • Oxidizing base: Sodium hypochlorite, sodium chlorate, sodium perborate

Asbestos

  • Asbestos: Friable and non-friable asbestos

Other

  • Home-generated sharps waste: Hypodermic needles, syringes, lancets
  • Home-generated pharmaceutical waste: Over-the-counter drugs and prescription drugs (including controlled and non-controlled substances).
  • Treated wood: Wood that contains chemical preservatives including creosote, copper chromium arsenic or other arsenical preservatives, pentachlorophenol, etc.

Disposition Methods

Stabilization:
Treatment where waste is chemically stabilized into a solid or semi-solid state such that it no longer exhibits hazardous characteristics and can be managed as non-hazardous waste (does not apply if after stabilization, waste is still hazardous and is sent for disposal or treatment by one of the other methods described here).
Neutralization/Treatment:
Treatment by chemically adjusting the pH of the waste such that the waste can be discharged into a publicly owned treatment works (does not apply if after neutralization, the waste is still hazardous and is sent for disposal or treatment by one of the other methods).
Reused:
Waste is used without further treatment or handling for the original intended purpose of the material before it became a waste.
Landfill:
Disposal of a waste in the ground at a hazardous waste landfill.
Fuel incineration:
Treatment by thermal destruction where the waste, either by itself or blended with another material, is burned to recover its potential thermal energy.
Destructive incineration:
Treatment by thermal destruction at a high temperature hazardous waste incinerator where the physical destruction is the sole intent of the treatment process.
Steward:
A product stewardship organization that meets the mandatory “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR) requirements of product stewardship. These include, at a minimum, the requirement that the producer’s responsibility for their product extends to post-consumer management of that products and its packaging. There are two related features of EPR policy: (1) shifting financial and management responsibility, with government oversight, upstream to the producer and a way from the public sector; and
Recycled:
Waste is sent for resource recovery where the raw materials used for making the material before it became a waste are recovered to make new materials of the same or different nature (does not include fuel incineration).

For more information contact: Household Hazardous Waste Annual Reports, Form303@calrecycle.ca.gov