Skip to main content

Schenectady County Legislature Announces Registration Open for Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event

Common Household Chemicals

The Schenectady County Legislature announced registration is now open for the Schenectady County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program taking place on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at SUNY Schenectady. This is the first of four HHW events scheduled for 2024.

The program allows County residents to bring unwanted hazardous chemicals from around their homes to the collection site for safe and environmentally sound disposal. This is a free program for Schenectady County residents. Space is limited and registration is required. Register online at www.schenectadycountyny.gov/hhw or by calling (518) 388-4775.

“Properly disposing of household hazardous waste keeps our community healthy and safe by preventing harmful chemicals from contaminating our environment,” said Schenectady County Legislator Sara Mae Pratt, Chair of the Environmental Conservation, Renewable Energy & Parks Committee. “Each year, the County hosts this event to help residents and families easily dispose of common household chemicals, promoting a cleaner and safer community.”

Date: Saturday, April 6, 2024

Time: 8:30–11:30am

Location: SUNY Schenectady’s back parking lot, 78 Washington Avenue

Participants should enter via the ramps off State Street. The Washington Avenue entrance will be exit-only.

Schenectady County hosted four HHW events in 2023 which took in a total of over 25,000 gallons of liquid materials and over 10,000 pounds of solid materials for safe disposal. This included over 8,000 gallons of paint.

Accepted Items

Acceptable items include leftover or unused household cleaners, paints and paint-related items (with the exception of empty paint containers), lawn and garden chemicals and automobile fluids (except motor oil), and a variety of other hazardous chemicals found around the house. Bring items in their original container with the original label if possible.

The HHW collection does not accept used motor oil, light bulbs/fluorescent lamps, batteries, asbestos, explosives (including ammunition), smoke detectors, medical waste, grill-sized propane tanks or larger, electronics including televisions, computers or computer accessories, or empty aerosol or paint containers.

Only materials from residential households will be accepted. No waste from commercial, industrial, institutional, or not-for-profits will be accepted.

For additional information about the HHW program, visit www.schenectadycountyny.gov/hhw or email recycling@schenectadycountyny.gov.

PaintCare

Residents and businesses can dispose of unwanted paint for recycling at any local PaintCare drop-off site. More information about the program, including a list of paint products accepted at each location and a full list of participating sites, is available at https://www.paintcare.org/states/new-york/.

For the latest information about Schenectady County events, programs and services, visit www.schenectadycountyny.gov/county-calendar and follow @SchenectadyCounty on Facebook.