Put Toxic Waste In Its Place

For information call 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

Or, view the collection services for your area for residential hazardous waste disposal information.

Universal Waste

The following universal wastes may not be placed out for curbside collection or disposed of in a bin/container meant for solid waste:

• Common Batteries – AA, AAA, D cells, C cells and button batteries (e.g. hearing aid batteries)
• Fluorescent tubes and bulbs including mercury containing lamps
• Electronic Devices – televisions, computers and computer monitors, printers, VCR’s, cell phones, telephones, radios and microwave ovens
• Pilot Light Sensors – Mercury containing switches are found in some gas appliances such as stoves, ovens, clothes dryers, water heaters, furnaces and space heaters
• Items containing Mercury – Gauges, thermometers, thermostats and switches Non-Empty aerosol cans that contain hazardous materials – cans that are labeled with TOXIC or FLAMMABLE that are not completely empty

For information on the nearest Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility available to you call:

Vista & San Marcos City, Encinitas, Poway, National City, Solana Beach	(800) 714-1195
ALL County Unincorporated areas	1- 877-713-2784
City of Escondido	760-745-3203
City of La Mesa	619-287-5696 ext. 4270
City of Lemon Grove	619-287-5696 ext. 4270
City of Coronado	619-522-7380
Imperial Beach	619-691-5122
Orange County	714- 834-6752
Los Angeles County	800-238-0172

EDCO Now Recycles Cooking Oil!

Don’t pour it down the drain, in the yard, or in your trash. Bring it to one of EDCO’s Buyback Centers and we’ll make sure it is reused. EDCO has established a Fats, Oils, and Grease, (FOG) collection program. With your help working together we can keep fats, oils, and grease (FOG) out of the drain and the ground and establish a reuse for it. It’s a free service and you’ll feel a whole lot greener. EDCO will ship the collected FOG to a refining facility where it will be processed into biodiesel. Note: Please don’t mix this product with any other oils such as motor oil or gear oil.

Simply collected your used discarded FOG in a leak proof container and when the container is full drop it off at any of our 6 buyback centers.

Residential Customers Can Recycle your Household Batteries at EDCO

Did you know that Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year to power radios, toys, cellular phones, watches, laptop computers, and portable power tools? Dry-cell batteries include alkaline and carbon zinc (9-volt, D, C, AA, AAA), mercuric-oxide (button, some cylindrical and rectangular), silver-oxide and zinc-air (button), and lithium (9-volt, C, AA, coin, button). 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 batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion process. Recycling batteries keeps 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 is rechargeable. Over its useful life, each rechargeable battery may substitute for hundreds of single-use batteries.

Residential customers can now conveniently recycle your household batteries (AAA, AA, C, D, and 9V only) for FREE at an EDCO facility near you (during operating hours only) – click here for locations.

LA/Orange County:

Park Waste & Recycling Services
6762 Stanton Ave.
Buena Park, CA 90621
(714) 522-3577

San Diego County:

EDCO Recycling Buyback Center
224 S. Las Posas Rd.
San Marcos, CA 92078
(760) 744-2700

Escondido Disposal, Inc.
1044 W. Washington Ave.
Escondido, CA 92025
(760) 745-3203

Fallbrook Recycling Buyback Center
550 W. Aviation
Fallbrook, CA 92028
(760) 728-6114

Ramona Disposal Buyback Center
324 Maple St.
Ramona, CA 92065
(760) 789-0516

EDCO Station Buyback Center
8184 Commercial St.
La Mesa, CA 91942
(619) 466-3355

EDCO Buyback Center
6700 Federal Blvd.
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
(619) 287-7555

Residential Customers Can Now Dispose of Your Home-Generated Sharps at EDCO

New State Regulations

In September 2008, State law (Section 118286 of the California Health and Safety Code) made it illegal to dispose of sharps waste in the trash or recycling containers, and required that all sharps waste be transported to a collection center in an approved sharps container.

Section 117671 of the California Health and Safety Code defines “home-generated sharps waste” as hypodermic needles, pen needles, intravenous needles, lancets, and other devices that are used to penetrate the skin for the delivery of medications derived from a household, including a multifamily residence or household.

In addition to prohibiting the disposal of sharps waste in the trash, the Medical Waste Management Act requires home-generated sharps to be placed in approved containers for transport and disposal. Users should store the sharps waste in red bio-hazardous containers for easy identification or other approved containers.

Bio-hazard containers are available for purchase by consumers. Additionally, some jurisdictions have containers available at no cost. Information can be found at county health websites.

Bio-hazard containers can be disposed of in one of four ways:

• Taken to a local household hazardous waste facility;
• Taken to a medical waste generator facility (hospitals, clinics, or doctors’ offices);
• Shipped through a mail-back program;
• Taken to an approved home-generated sharps waste collection location.

Residential customers can now conveniently dispose of sharps FREE at an EDCO facility near you (during operating hours only). LOOSE SHARPS ARE NOT ACCEPTED. Store sharps in approved sharps containers or in a rigid, puncture resistant, tightly sealed container, including: bleach bottles, liquid detergent bottles or coffee cans with lids. DO NOT STORE IN: paper or plastic bags, glass containers, cardboard or coated paper containers, plastic bottles that have a CRV (CA Redemption Value) or milk jugs.

San Diego County:

EDCO Recycling Buyback Center
224 S. Las Posas Rd.
San Marcos, CA 92078
(760) 744-2700

Escondido Disposal, Inc.
1044 W. Washington Ave.
Escondido, CA 92025
(760) 745-3203

Fallbrook Recycling Buyback Center
550 W. Aviation
Fallbrook, CA 92028
(760) 728-6114

Ramona Disposal Buyback Center
324 Maple St.
Ramona, CA 92065
(760) 789-0516

EDCO Station Buyback Center
8184 Commercial St.
La Mesa, CA 91942
(619) 466-3355

EDCO Buyback Center
6700 Federal Blvd.
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
(619) 287-7555

To find additional locations to properly dispose of home-generated sharps, go to the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s Medical Waste Disposal Directory.

For more information, visit CIWMB’s Sharps web page.

Click here for detailed information about the new state regulations.