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Denver Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program |
Most Denver residents may now schedule pickup of household hazardous materials such as paint, alkaline (household) batteries, pesticides, solvents, cleaners, and lubricants. The pilot, door-to-door collection program is a cooperative effort of two Denver Public Works agencies: Wastewater Management and Solid Waste Management/Denver Recycles.
Denver’s Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Service will be operated under contract by Curbside Inc., a Safety-Kleen Co. Curbside operates similar HHW collection programs in 200 cities and counties throughout the U.S. The Denver program will be managed locally through Safety-Kleen’s Englewood operations plant.
Denver citizens should contact 1-800-449-7587 to schedule hazardous waste pickup from their homes.
Denver’s new program also seeks to help residents reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals they purchase and encourages them try less-toxic alternatives to many common hazardous chemicals.
Beyond Collection . . . Reducing your use of hazardous waste:
- Buy only what you need to complete the job.
- Use up what you buy.
- Look for the least toxic product or make homemade solutions to do the work. Fefer to Denver Recycles booklet, Managing Hazarous Waste in Your Home, inside your HHW kit for suggestions.
- Share extra materials with a friend, neighbor, church or community group.
Denver’s HHW program will focus on collecting items that cannot be recycled locally and which should not be placed in a landfill. These items include household batteries, oil-based paint and finishes, pesticides, solvents, cleaners and lubricants. To help the City spend its HHW program budget most effectively, residents will be strongly encouraged to take items such as motor oil and automotive batteries to local businesses that recycle these items for little or no charge.
To participate in the service, residents must be Denver Solid Waste Management customers. Eligible residents may simply call the Curbside Inc. toll-free hotline at 800-HHW-PKUP (800-449-7587) to schedule a household hazardous waste pickup from their homes. If you are unable to reuse your HHW, Denver residents are eligible to participate in a door-to-door collection program. To be eligible for collection, residents must be Denver Solid Waste Management customers. Residents are permitted one HHW collection annually and are asked to have at least three different materials before calling for a pickup.
What CANNOT be collected: Ammunition, medical wste, nuclear/radioactive waste, explosives, and commercial chemicals.Photograph courtesy of Judy Sedbrook. Back to Gardening Topics Back to Community Resources Back to Home
