The local record on household chemicals, paints, and everything you shouldn't put in the bin
We started this site because most guidance on hazardous waste sounds like it was written by a compliance officer for another compliance officer. It shouldn't take three tabs and a phone call to figure out what to do with an old smoke detector or a shelf full of half-dried paint. So we write about it plainly, for Orlando first, and for the cities that keep asking us the same questions second.
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Guide · Orlando
Orange County runs one of the more organized household chemical programs in the state, but the rules aren't obvious from the website. Here's the short version — what they'll take, what they won't, and how to plan a single trip that gets rid of everything without a return visit.
Guide · Tampa
Hillsborough's schedule is straightforward, but the accepted-items list is more nuanced than the signage suggests. A short field-guide.
Paint · Atlanta
Latex, oil-based, aerosol — three very different disposal paths, and only one of them ends at a curbside bin. What Atlanta homeowners get wrong.
Alarms · Miami
Most ionization-type smoke detectors contain a small amount of americium-241. It's not dangerous on a shelf, but it's not trash, either.
Guide · Jacksonville
Kitchen, garage, bathroom, laundry, shed. You'd be surprised how much of what's under your sink counts as household hazardous waste in Duval County.
Guide · Boston & Baltimore
Two northeast cities, two very different collection models. If you're moving out of a Beacon Hill walk-up or a Federal Hill rowhouse, read this first.