Hazardous Waste Disposal and Recycling Programs in Ventura County

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

City of Ojai hazardous waste collection options at THIS LINK (pdf doc)

Hazardous waste collection in Calabasas at THIS LINK.

Hazardous waste collection in Agoura Hills at THIS LINK.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Options for Thousand Oaks Residents

The City of Thousand Oaks Public Works Department's "GoGreen" website has hundreds of conservation tips relating to composting, energy conservation, hazardous waste disposal, recycling and trash, reuse programs, water conservation, living green advice, and much more. Check it out at www.toaks.org/GoGreen.

Like me, you may have a lot of junk lying around the house that you'd like to get rid of but are not allowed to place in the trash. 

Since May 2014, the City has run a permanent Household Hazardous Waste Facility located next to the Service Center at 2010 Conejo Center Drive, Newbury Park.

Residents of Thousand Oaks and unincorporated areas of Ventura County may sign up to drop off items at this facility on Fridays/Saturdays from 9am to 1pm, except certain holiday weekends, at THIS LINK. Advance registration is required.

Items accepted at these monthly collection events include acids, motor oil, antifreeze, asbestos, nail polish/remover, automatic switches, oil filters, batteries, paints, cement, paint thinners, chlorine, fertilizers, pool chemicals, fluorescent lights, propane cylinders, fire extinguishers, rodent poison, garden chemicals, smoke detectors, gasoline, solvents, used frying oil, household cleaners, weed killers and more. They do not accept tires, medications. business waste and other items.

One person's hazardous waste is another's gold! The City's Hazardous Waste Material Reuse Program allows residents to take away certain items previously disposed of, such as cleaners, paint, pool chemicals, motor oils, adhesives, etc. Selection obviously will vary. No appointment needed. Just stop by ReUse Store (same location as waste collection facility) on Friday/Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The ReUse store will be closed weekends associated with the following holidays: President's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day

There are also convenient hazardous waste disposal for other items:

Batteries: Community Centers at Borchard Park, Dos Vientos and Thousand Oaks (next to TOHS), Goebel Senior Center, Thousand Oaks/Newbury Park Libraries, City Hall and Thousand Oaks Transportation Center.

Motor Oil/Filters: See THIS LINK.

Electronic Waste: Best Buy, Goodwill Industries, PC Recycle, Waste Management and Gold Coast Recycling Center. More info at THIS LINK.

Fluorescent Lights/CFL's: You may bring any size or type of fluorescent and LED bulbs to the City's Hazardous Waste Facility.

(See www.homedepot.com/c/ab/how-to-dispose-of-lightbulbs/9ba683603be9fa5395fab901b263d806 for more information on what to do with light bulbs of various types.)

Unwanted and/or expired medications can be dropped off throughout Ventura County at designated police stations, such as the East Valley Police Station Lobby at 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. Open Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm.

Visit toaks.org/GoGreen for updates.

Get or Give Free Stuff With Freecycle

The Freecycle Network has over 5,300 groups and 11.3 million members around the world.  It is a grassroots, nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns and thus keeping it out of landfills.  Membership is free, and everything posted must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages.

More information is available at www.freecycle.org.  There are groups organized and moderated by volunteers in many different locations via use of Yahoo Groups.

Here are the Ventura County area groups as of July 2024:

Thousand Oaks Group (2,600 members)

Simi Valley Group (1,700 members)

Ventura Group (2,100 members)

So check it out!  Somebody may need something that you don't want!

Another source for giving and getting local free stuff is www.craigslist.com.  Here is a link to free stuff in the Ventura County Craiglist and Los Angeles County Craigslist.

Local Trash and Recycling Guidelines in the Conejo Valley

We seem to always argue in our household about what we are "supposed" to place in the recycling, trash and yard debris containers.  Harrison Industries, one of our local trash collectors in the Conejo Valley (along with Waste Management), publishes guidelines on what we can and cannot do:

Recycling Bin:

Yes:  Aluminum and metal cans, plastic containers (1-7), plastic bags, hard plastics (including nursery pots, yogurt containers and toys), glass containers, paper and junk mail, newspaper, magazines, cardboard, cereal, cracker and shoe boxes.

No:  Styrofoam, plastic bags or shrink wrap.

The City of Thousand Oaks has some additional tips about the quality of the City’s recycling: Keep plastic bags out of the recycling bin (even if you collect recyclables in them. Dump them out of the bag as it causes problems with sorting them. Rinse any food-contaminated containers before recycling them. And of course, keep all non-recyclables out of the recycling bin.

Yard Debris Bin:

Yes:  Yard trimmings, weeds, leaves, grass, small branches, unpainted/untreated scrap lumber, plants and flowers.

No:  Trash, garden hoses, animal waste, dirt/rocks, yucca/palm, plastic bags, food, recyclables, concrete, metal, flower pots and painted/treated wood.

Trash:

Yes: Well, just trash.  Everything that doesn't go into the recycling and yard debris, with exceptions below.

No:  Hazardous waste, TVs, computer monitors, fluorescent light bulbs, tires, batteries, oil/paint, medical needles.

Bin Spacing:  2 to 3 feet apart. Now there’s been some heated debate on NextDoor regarding whether to put the bins on the curb or in the street in front of the curb. E.J. Harrison says the carts should be placed “with the wheels facing the curb,” which to me infers they should be in the street. I’ve personally always place my bins/carts in the street, and find it quite obnoxious when folks block sidewalks with their trash bins. So I guess you know my feelings on the matter. :)

Hazardous Waste

Thousand Oaks residents can take hazardous waste for disposal by appointment 1 day per month.  Click here to make an appointment.

Materials accepted includes acids, oil, antifreeze, paint, propane, pesticides, batteries, electronics, various household chemical, etc. 

Looking for other places to bring recyclables and hazardous waste?  Check out www.Earth911.org.

Batteries and Fluorescent Bulbs

For several years now it has been illegal to toss used batteries and flourescent bulbs in the trash.  While I am not aware of anyone going to jail for dumping a AA battery into the trash, do the right thing by taking used batteries to a hazardous waste disposal event or taking your batteries to drop-off locations in the area.

Or better yet, switch to rechargeable batteries!