Household Hazardous Waste

Many common household products used in our daily activities contain potentially hazardous ingredients and require special disposal. These products, which are often referred to as Household Hazardous Waste, contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients and cannot be thrown in the trash, on the ground, or down storm drains. This is because chemicals that are not properly disposed of can threaten the environment by contaminating our air and water.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) includes:

• Paints
• Antifreeze
• Pool Chemicals
• Cleaners
• Used Motor Oil and Oil Filters
• Batteries
• Pesticides
• Sharps/Needles
• E-waste/Universal Waste

Universal Waste

Universal waste is hazardous waste that is widely produced by households and many different types of businesses. Universal waste includes televisions, computers, and other electronic devices as well as batteries, fluorescent lamps, mercury thermostats and other mercury-containing equipment.

There are a variety of convenient ways for Mission Viejo residents to dispose of their household hazardous waste safely and legally. You can learn more about your disposal options below.

How do I properly dispose of household hazardous waste? 

Mission Viejo residents have two ways to safely and properly dispose of household hazardous waste:

Collection Events

Through its trash hauler, Mission Viejo hosts two collection events a year for residents to dispose of these types of household hazardous waste:

• Paint products and thinners
• Antifreeze
• Pool Chemicals
• Household Cleaners
• Fire Extinguishers
• Used Motor Oil and Oil Filters
• Thermometers
• Smoke Detectors
• Pesticides
• Fluorescent Light Bulbs and Tubes
• E-Waste

There is a limit of 125 pounds or 15 gallons of HHW per vehicle. Each container must not exceed 5 gallons. Please do not bring sharps, ammunition, appliances larger than microwaves, asbestos, construction materials, leaking containers, pressurized cylinders, tires, trash, explosives, radioactive waste, biomedical waste or unknowns as these items will not be accepted. To learn more or to find out when one of these collection events will be happening next, please contact the Mission Viejo Public Works Department at 949-470-3056 or greenmv@cityofmissionviejo.org.

Note that batteries and sharps/needles disposal are handled by different programs as described below.

Orange County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers

Residents may also take household hazardous waste to one of four collection centers located in the County of Orange.  These centers are operated by the County and are free to County residents. The centers are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm. They are closed on major holidays and rainy days. Locations are listed below:

• Anaheim -10171 North Blue Gum Street
• Huntington Beach - 17121 Nichols Street
• Irvine - 6411 Oak Canyon
• San Juan Capistrano - 32250 Avenida La Pata

For more information about items accepted at County household hazardous waste collection centers, please call 714-834-4000, visit www.oclandfills.com, or view the Guide to Orange County's Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers fact sheet.

Common household batteries contain toxic heavy metals and/or corrosive materials that are harmful to the environment.  State environmental laws prohibit household batteries from being disposed of in landfills, which means batteries CANNOT be thrown in the trash, recycling, or organics bin.

Battery Management Tips

• Batteries are hazardous waste. DO NOT throw batteries into the trash or recycle bin.

• Collect batteries in non-metallic, non-combustible, covered containers. Plastic works well for battery collection.

• Properly dispose and recycle at a collection center.

• Use rechargeable batteries when possible.

Mission Viejo residents can recycle used batteries at the following city facilities. Please call facility to verify the hours of operation.

For a downloadable and printable flyer on battery disposal, please click here

E-Waste is a common term used to describe electronic equipment that has reached or is nearing the end of its useful life or equipment that is no longer needed. E-waste may contain toxic chemicals such as lead or mercury and may not be disposed of in the trash. E-waste includes, but is not limited to, the following items:

• Alarm Clocks
• Camcorders
• CD Players
• Cell Phones
• Computers (CPUs, laptops)
• Computer Monitors (CRTs)
• Copiers (home use)
• Digital Cameras
• Digital Thermometers
• DVD Players
• iPods, MP3 Players
• Microwave ovens
• Pagers
• PDAs
• Printers, Scanners, Fax Machines (home use)
• Radios, all types (home and car)
• Telephones, Answering Machines
• Televisions (CRTs, flat screens)
• VCR Players
• Video Game Consoles and Accessories
• Walkie-Talkies, Two-Way Radios

How Do I Properly Dispose of E-waste?

Curbside Collection Program

Mission Viejo residents may have their E-waste collected by the City’s trash hauler, Waste Management, as part of the bulky item collection program. Please contact Waste Management at 949-642-1191 or the Mission Viejo Public Works Department at 949-470-3056 or publicworks@cityofmissionviejo.org to learn more.

Collection Events

Through its trash hauler, Mission Viejo hosts two collection events a year for residents to dispose of their E-waste. To learn more or to find out when one of these collection events will be happening next, please contact the Mission Viejo Public Works Department at 949-470-3056 or greenmv@cityofmissionviejo.org. 

Collection Centers

For residents that would prefer to take their E-Waste to a collection center, there are four household hazardous waste collection centers located in the County of Orange that accept electronic waste. These centers are operated by the County and are free to county residents. The centers are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm and are closed on major holidays and rainy days.

• Anaheim -10171 North Blue Gum Street
• Huntington Beach - 17121 Nichols Street
• Irvine - 6411 Oak Canyon
• San Juan Capistrano - 32250 Avenida La Pata

Goodwill Industries

There are two Goodwill locations in Mission Viejo that accept electronic waste, working or not. 

Recycle Used Motor Oil & Filters

Used oil can contain such contaminants as lead, magnesium, copper, zinc, chromium, arsenic, chlorides, cadmium, and chlorinated compounds. Oil poured down storm drains or onto the ground can work its way into our ground and surface waters and cause serious pollution! Just one gallon of used oil can pollute one million gallons of drinking water. Mission Viejo has 12 State-Certified Used Oil Collection Centers available for the safe disposal and recycling of used motor oil.  Recycling is easy! When you do an oil change, just drain your vehicle’s oil into a clean container, seal the lid, and take it to one of the 12 conveniently located collection centers in Mission Viejo, and don’t forget the oil filter.  Oil filters contain contaminants as well and cannot be thrown in the trash. So don’t throw good oil down the drain—Recycle it!

State-Certified Used Oil Collection Centers

*Center does not accept filters.

State law (Section 118286 of the California Health and Safety Code) makes it illegal to dispose of sharps waste (such as hypodermic needles, lancets, and test strips) in trash or recycling containers and requires all sharps waste be transported to a collection center in an approved sharps container or other secure container.  Mission Viejo residents are able to drop off needles, lancets, and other home-generated sharps waste at the Norman P. Murray Community & Senior Center in a secure drop-box.  The public can access the sharps disposal box during the center's regular business hours. There is no charge to use the drop box.
 
For everyone's safety, sharps waste must be placed in a rigid and puncture-resistant container (e.g., laundry detergent bottle, soda bottle or medical sharps container) before dropping the container into the secure drop box.  Loose materials cannot be accepted. 

Alternatively, you may take your sharps to one of four Orange County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Centers. The two nearest Mission Viejo are located in San Juan Capistrano and Irvine. Information on these HHW Centers, including location addresses, phone numbers, and hours of operation can be found here: https://www.oclandfills.com/hazardous-waste/medication-and-sharps-disposal. 

At one time, flushing old medication down the toilet was a recommended method of disposal.  We now know that disposing of medications in this manner is harmful to the environment.  Water from inside your home goes to a wastewater treatment plant; but these plants are not designed to remove man-made pollutants, such as medications, from the water.  As a result, when the treated water is released from the wastewater treatment plants, the chemicals from the medications are still present in the water.  This presents a threat to our water bodies such as creeks, rivers, streams, and the ocean.

The City of Mission Viejo has a medication disposal program to help keep harmful pollutants out of our waterways. Residents can safely dispose of expired or unwanted non-controlled prescription and over-the-counter medications at the Norman P. Murray Community & Senior Center by dropping them in a secure medication disposal container. The Center is located at 24932 Veterans Way. Please call the center 949-470-3062 before dropping off your medications for center hours and to ensure that the container has space available.

Old medications and other types of household hazardous waste can also be delivered to one of the four County of Orange Household Hazardous Waste collection sites. For information about the County’s program call 714-834-6752 or visit www.oclandfills.com. 

To learn more about the City of Mission Viejo’s Environmental Programs, contact the Public Works Department at 949-470-8458 or greenmv@cityofmissionviejo.org.

Additionally, Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) offers a "Safe Drop" secure drop box disposal location to safely dispose of unused non-controlled prescriptions and over-the-counter medications at its main office located at 26111 Antonio Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita.  The public can access the medicine drop box during SMWD’s regular business hours of Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm There is no charge to use the drop box.

Items accepted include:

• Prescription and over-the-counter pills and capsules
• Liquid medications, including ointments, lotions and creams (in sealed containers)
• Veterinary medications
• Vitamins, supplements, homeopathic remedies
• Medical patches
• Inhalers (empty)
• Medical samples

Collection of all pharmaceuticals is in accordance with United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) standards. For more information about the “Safe Drop” program and collection, please visit http://www.smwd.com/324/Medicine-Disposal or call its Customer Relations Department at 949-459-6420.

Fluorescent lights, including tubes and compact fluorescent lights (CFL), are considered hazardous waste, and they cannot be thrown in the trash. Fluorescent bulbs and tubes are filled with mercury vapor that emits ultraviolet light when electricity is applied. The bulbs/tubes have a coating inside that turns the ultraviolet rays into visible light. CFL are the most energy efficient of all light; they use 67 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last longer.

How do I properly dispose of fluorescent light bulbs and tubes? 

Mission Viejo residents have two ways to dispose of fluorescent light bulbs and tubes safely and properly:

Collection Events

Through its trash hauler, Mission Viejo hosts two collection events a year for residents to dispose of their old light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, and other household hazardous waste. To learn more or to find out when one of these collection events will be happening next, please contact the Mission Viejo Public Works Department at 949-470-3056 or greenmv@cityofmissionviejo.org.

Collection Centers

For residents that would prefer to take their fluorescent light bulbs and tubes to a collection center, there are four household hazardous waste collection centers located in the County of Orange. These centers are free to all Orange County residents. The centers are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm (closed on holidays) and are located at:

• Anaheim -10171 North Blue Gum Street
• Huntington Beach - 17121 Nichols Street
• Irvine - 6411 Oak Canyon
• San Juan Capistrano - 32250 Avenida La Pata