Household Hazardous Waste

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is leftover household products that are flammable, corrosive, reactive or poisonous. HHW includes a wide variety of items that require special handling and storage techniques to prevent health and safety hazards and/or environmental pollution.  Common items include pesticides, varnishes, paints, antifreeze, electronics, batteries, and leftover household products.

Incorrect disposal of HHW not only contaminates curbside recycling, but is also harmful to the environment and may cause explosions or fires in collection vehicles, at recycling facilities, during transport, or at landfills. While these materials are banned from disposal in curbside recycling and garbage totes, the Bings Creek transfer building has recently seen an increase in fires from HHW that has been improperly disposed of at the curb.  

The CVRD offers free HHW collection options for many everyday items (see below) at its Recycling Centres for safe handling and recycling. 

Category
Accepted Materials
BatteriesLithium-ion batteries, single-use batteries, rechargeable batteries, vehicle batteries.
Electronics, small appliances and power tools
All plug-in or battery-operated products.
HHW containers
Oil, antifreeze, household paint cans, spray paint cans, disposable & refillable propane tanks/canisters.
Light bulbs
LED, halogen, incandescent, fluorescent and string lights.
Liquid HHW 
Liquid paint thinners, gasoline, solvents, antifreeze, engine oil, gear oil, camp fuels, and liquid adhesives with the flame symbol.  
Paints & stains
All oil and water-based paints, aerosol paints and containers are accepted.
Pesticides
Consumer pesticides with the poisonous (skull and crossbones) symbol and Pest Control Product (PCP) number on the container.
Smoke & Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms
All units including combination smoke/CO alarms and expired units are accepted.
Thermostats
Mercury and furnace thermostats.

For specific disposal instructions and locations, please search for the item in the Cowichan Recyclopedia.