Dearborn County Solid Waste Management District

                            Dearborn County Recycling Center

                            10700 Prospect Lane, Aurora IN  47001

                          812-926-9963 or 800-537-8801

Household Hazardous Waste

 
Many common items are considered Household Hazardous Waste

What is Household Hazardous Waste?

    Household Hazardous waste, or HHW, is any unusable or unwanted product found in your home, garage, shed or barn that can be hazardous to the environment if it is not disposed of correctly.  Many households contain hazardous substances.  Every year accidents concerning injury, death, and environmental damage occur but could have been prevented by the proper storage and disposal of household products.

    Virtually all products that are considered HHW will carry signal words on their labels to alert consumers to potential hazards.  The signal words used indicates the toxicity of the product.

Danger or Poison - contents are highly toxic and potentially deadly at low doses.

Danger - corrosive contents can cause irreversible eye damage or severe skin injury

Warning - contents are moderately toxic or can cause moderate eye or skin irritation

Caution - contents are slightly toxic or may cause slight eye or skin irritation

    Hazardous household products should never go in your regular trash, down the drain, on the ground, or in the burn barrel.  Follow these procedures to properly handle hazardous household products:

1. Use up what you have and make sure you only buy what you need to get the job done.  In the future consider safer alternatives.

2. If you can't use a household product up, check with friends, neighbors, and community groups to see if they can use it.  If you give a product to someone else, make sure it is in its original, labeled container.

3. The district will accept various toxic wastes during its special HHW collections.  Please bring materials in original, labeled containers.  Be sure they are not leaking.

    Dearborn County residents can bring their Household Hazardous Wastes to the Recycling Center on the last Wednesday of the month, April thru November, from Noon to 6pm.  This includes computers and all computer components and any electrical appliances.  A list of common HHW items can be found by clicking here.  Not sure if what you have is acceptable?  Our staff will be glad to answer your questions.  The office is open Monday - Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.  We can be reached via phone, fax, or email.  Business must call for further information and pricing before dropping off HHW.

    In addition, these problematic wastes can be brought during HHW collection or any Friday or Saturday during posted hours only:

Acceptable HHW or problematic wastes must be dropped off during business hours only and must be with the assistance of a certified staff member.  Do not leave problematic wastes on-site after posted hours.

    Placing the recyclables and/or other solid waste on the ground is both improper and illegal.  To do so is illegal dumping and is a violation of Indiana Code 35-45-3 and Dearborn County Ordinance 10-1991.  Our grounds are monitored and violators will be prosecuted.

   The District accepts most HHW from residents at no charge.  However, the Board has set limits without charge and set the fees for additional items as follows:

* A total of five tires on or off the rim at no charge.