Hazardous Waste Disposal and Recycling Programs in Ventura County
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The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) website highlights common products that we use in our daily lives that contain potentially hazardous ingredients, thus requiring special care when disposed of.
Items that are banned from the trash are as follows:
Lights, Batteries and Electronics
Fluorescent light bulbs and tubes ("old school" incandescent bulbs can be thrown in the trash.). Remember that LED light bulbs and holiday light strands are considered hazardous waste and must be disposed off properly. Here’s a Home Depot guide on how to dispose of light bulbs.
Batteries of all types and sizes, AAA, AA, C, D, button cell, 9-volt, etc., both rechargeable and single use, as well as lead-acid batteries such as car batteries.
Computer and television monitors including cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal diode (LCD), and plasma monitors.
Electronic devices including computers, printers, VCRs, cell phones, telephones, radios and microwave ovens.
Household and Landscape Chemicals
Flammables and poisons such as oil-based paints and reactive and explosive materials
Acids, oxidizers, and bases including some pool chemicals and cleaners
Pesticides and herbicides
Paints and Solvents - latex paint, oil-based paint, non-empty aerosol paint and solvent cans, and solvents such as paint thinners, nail polish remover, etc.
Building materials that contain asbestos and wood treated with chromium copper arsenate.
Automobile items including antifreeze, batteries, motor oil and filters and tires (tires are not considered hazardous but are banned from the trash for other reasons).
Items Containing Mercury including electrical switches and relays in old appliances, old style thermostats, pilot light sensors in some gas appliances, some gauges and mercury thermometers.
Other items such as propane tanks, hypodermic needles, syringes, expired/unwanted medications etc.
So what to do with these items? Recycle and reuse them! Here are some local Ventura County resident options:
The City of Thousand Oaks has a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Disposal Facility with details at THIS LINK. Appointments are required for HHW drop-offs. Materials accepted during regular operating hours include household items like aerosol sprays, nail polish, used frying oil, etc., items in the garage like antifreeze, brake fluid, oil, etc., as well as things like paint thinners, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Click the link above for more detailed information.
City of Thousand Oaks battery recycling centers at THIS LINK. Dropoff options as of October 2022 include Borchard Community Park (front entrance), Dos Vientos Community Center (front lobby), Goebel Senior Center (front lobby), Thousand Oaks Library (both entrances), Newbury Park Library (front entrance), Thousand Oaks City Hall (front entrance), Thousand Oaks Community Center (front entrance) and Thousand Oaks Transportation Center (lobby). (Also Home Depot, but rechargeable batteries only.)
Thousand Oaks area computer and electronics recycling centers at THIS LINK.
Unwanted and/or expired medications can be dropped off throughout Ventura County at designated police stations. Details at THIS LINK.
Medicine disposal bin at East Valley Police Station in Thousand Oaks
The City of Westlake Village offers free monthly hazardous waste collection service via Waste Management. www.wlv.org/faq.aspx?TID=25
City of Simi Valley hazardous Waste Drop-Off Program on six Saturdays per year at THIS LINK.
City of Simi Valley household battery recycling options at THIS LINK includes Simi Valley Public Library, G.I. Industries/Waste Management and Anderson Rubbish.
City of Camarillo hosts household hazardous waste program drop-off events on the 2nd consecutive Friday/Saturday of each month. View upcoming dates and make appointments at www.cityofcamarillo.org/residents/trash___recycling/hazardous_waste.php.
Cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme household hazardous waste collection events www.oxnard.org/household-hazardous-waste
Cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme Antifreeze, Batteries, Oil and Paint Recycling www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=1022
City of Moorpark hazardous waste drop-off events www.moorparkca.gov/150/Hazardous-Waste
Ventura County needle collection facilities crma.org/home-generated-sharps
City of Ventura hazardous waste collection events www.cityofventura.ca.gov/2103/Household-Hazardous-Waste-HHW-Events
