What is Household Hazardous Waste?

Hazardous waste is unused or leftover portions of products containing toxic chemicals used around the home. Products labeled Caution, Warning, Danger, Poison, Toxic, Flammable, or Corrosive are considered hazardous.

Household Hazardous Waste Includes Leftover:

Residents can properly dispose of household toxic items at no cost at the Environmental Collection Center at EDCO Recycling & Transfer in Signal Hill.

Open the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (closed the following holiday weekends: May 24, 2025, October 11, 2025 and December 27, 2025).

2755 California Avenue
Signal Hill, CA 90755

Convenient Collection of:

• Household Hazardous Waste
• E-Waste
• Universal Waste
• Sharps & Medicine
• Pesticides & Fertilizers
• …and more

The facility will NOT accept business waste, tires, explosives, radioactive material, or medical waste!

When preparing to transport your HHW items, please remember:

• Do not transport more than the legal limit of 15 gallons or 125 pounds of HHW
• All container labels must be legible (no worn-off labels)
• All containers must be sealed and not leaking
• Do not mix different products into one container
• HHW must be transported in the trunk of the car or another area away from passengers and pets

For information about properly disposing of household hazardous materials, call the County Household Hazardous Waste Hotline at 888-253-2652 or 1-800-238-0172.

Or utilize the Earth 911 recycling hotline to locate drop-off programs for hazardous and non-hazardous materials: 1-800-CLEANUP (800-253-2687) or www.earth911.org

Recycle your Household Batteries

Did you know Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries yearly to power radios, toys, cellular phones, watches, laptops, and portable power tools? Dry-cell batteries include alkaline and carbon zinc (9-volt, D, C, AA, AAA), Rechargeable Batteries (used in cell phones and power tools), and Button Cell Batteries (used in watches, cameras, and hearing aids). On average, each person in the United States discards eight dry-cell batteries per year.

Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by combustion. Recycling batteries keep heavy metals out of landfills and the air. Recycling also saves resources because recovered plastic and metals can be used to make new batteries.

One way to reduce the number of batteries in the waste stream is to purchase rechargeable batteries. Nearly one in five dry-cell batteries purchased in the United States are rechargeable. Over its useful life, each rechargeable battery may substitute for hundreds of single-use batteries.

To encourage Signal Hill residents to dispose of their household batteries properly, Public Works has provided three locations for the proper collection of household batteries. This program offers battery collection containers at:

• City Hall (lower level entry), 2175 Cherry Avenue
• City Library, 1770 E. Hill Street
• City Corporation Yard, 2175 E. 28th Street

Watch a Short Animated Video on Battery Safety from the Avoid the Spark Campaign

Paint

Paint may not be placed out for curbside collection or disposed of in a bin/container meant for solid waste. FREE paint recycling is available at drop-off sites throughout California. Most of these sites are at paint retailers (paint, hardware, and home improvement stores) that have volunteered to take back paint, and they are available to any resident and business in California. These stores accept paint whenever they are open for business. Below is a link to a drop-off site near you and where you can view hours and restrictions.

Find a PaintCare drop-off location