Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event Schedule

Participation

• Any Tennessee resident can participate in the Mobile Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Service.
• Only households may use the service to dispose of hazardous wastes.
• No commercial, institutional, or agri-business waste will be accepted.

Event Scheduling

Mobile Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collections only occur in the fall and spring to avoid extreme weather. The process is very simple. Check the collection schedule to determine a convenient event for you. The spring schedule is posted by February and the fall schedule is posted by August. On the day of the event, load the unwanted materials into your trunk or the back of your truck. For safety, don't mix materials, keep them in their original containers, double package any leaking containers, and place any breakable containers in a box, cushioned with newspaper. When you get to the event you will be surveyed to find out in what county you live and from how many households you are bringing waste.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture runs an Agricultural Pesticide Waste Collection Program that will accept pesticides from farmers. Additionally, NO explosive, ordnance, ammunition, radioactives, or medical waste will be accepted. Smoke detectors are not accepted, but may be recycled elsewhere.

Items No Longer Accepted at Mobile HHW Collections

Items no longer accepted at the mobile HHW collections are alkaline batteries, paint, and electronics. Alkaline batteries sold after May 13, 1996, have no mercury added and may be discarded in the regular trash. Nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd), nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH), lithium ion (Li-Ion) and small sealed lead-acid (Pb) batteries may be recycled at local collection sites that partner with Call2Recycle. You may find a drop-off location near you by entering your ZIP code at www.call2recycle.org/locator. Other items not accepted at the mobile HHW collections include ammunition, explosives, medical waste, radioactive material and any items from a school, commercial business or agri-business. Smoke detectors are not accepted, but may be recycled elsewhere.

Background

Tennessee's Mobile Collection Service has been in operation since 1993. Since then, there have been over 1300 one-day collections. Over 358,000 Tennessee families have brought in over 23 million pounds of household hazardous waste for proper disposal. The program is funded by a $0.90 per ton surcharge on waste entering landfills.

For more information about Tennessee's Household Hazardous Waste Program, please contact Robert Wadley by email or at 615-741-4907.