What to do with paint, chemicals and other household hazardous waste in Dallas County

Paint, solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals, motor oil, fuel and propane are on the short list of what a junk removal crew cannot take, ours included, and most do not belong in a trash cart either. Nearly all of them have a free route instead. Here is who gets in, what goes where and how to carry it safely.

Who can use the Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center free?

The center serves Dallas, 14 other participating cities and unincorporated Dallas County, and their residents drop off household chemicals free. All six cities this branch serves are on the county's list. Bring a driver's license and a current utility bill; residents of other cities pay at least $100.

It sits about a mile north of I-635, on the east side of the street between Forest Lane and Miller Road. Turn in at the first driveway north of the railroad tracks; the one nearest the building is the exit. It is closed Sundays, Mondays, Fridays and holidays.

Dallas's BOPA events take only batteries, oil, paint and antifreeze, 7 to 11 a.m. at rotating sites, from any participating city's residents who show a license or utility bill. Each household can bring up to 25 gallons a day plus 50 pounds of batteries, in containers of 5 gallons or less; dates are on the city's household chemicals page.

What does the center take, and what does it turn away?

• It takes paint and home repair products, household chemicals, cleaners, aerosols, lawn and garden chemicals, pool chemicals, craft supplies, batteries of all kinds, automotive fluids and oil filters, fluorescent tubes, and computers, cell phones and small electronics.
• It turns away business waste, containers over 5 gallons, tires, explosives and ammunition, shock-sensitive materials, smoke detectors and other radioactive materials, medical waste, ordinary trash and recyclables, construction debris, and TVs and large appliances.
• The City of Dallas's copy of the list also rules out microwaves and medicines.

Where to take each item: paint, batteries, oil, propane and more

Legally, TCEQ says a household's own leftovers do not have to be handled as hazardous waste and can often go in the trash. Cities ask for more: Dallas says paint, cleaners and batteries should never go in your roll cart. Here is where each item goes instead.

Paint disposal in Dallas: latex versus oil-based

With paint, the type decides the route. For leftover latex, Dallas County's advice is to use it up, give it away or dry it: pour it over kitty litter in a shallow container or plastic-lined trench, let it dry completely, break it up and put it in the trash. Empty cans dried open in the sun can follow.

Oil-based paint is different. The drying method is for latex only, and TCEQ counts oil-based paint, and some anti-mildew latex, as household hazardous waste, so those cans go to the center or a BOPA event. Sealed well, oil-based paint keeps for years, so offer it to a neighbor first. Dallas's brush and bulky collection excludes paint and chemicals too; what Dallas bulk trash pickup will take covers the rest.

Electronics recycling in Dallas and the Texas take-back programs

The county center takes computers, phones and small electronics, but not TVs. Dallas residents can drop electronics, TVs included, at McCommas Bluff Landfill or any of the three city transfer stations, which send them to an e-Stewards-certified recycler; check the landfill and transfer station page for temporary closures first. For a console TV or a closet of old computers, electronics pickup is the paid route.

Makers must help too. Under the Texas Recycles Computers program, any company selling computers in Texas must offer free, convenient recycling of its own brand of desktops, laptops and monitors, with matching keyboards and mice, for home users. TV makers' programs, listed by brand on TCEQ's Texas Recycles TVs page, are tied to market share, so a maker can stop once it has collected its share for the year.

How do you transport household chemicals safely?

These rules protect you and the staff who unload your car:

1. Keep everything in its original, labeled container, and do not pour products together; Dallas County says not to mix, combine or consolidate them.
2. Tighten every lid and check for leaks; TCEQ warns that leaking incompatible chemicals can be dangerous if they mix.
3. Pack containers upright in a sturdy box or bin, secured so nothing tips.
4. Box pool chlorine and pool acid separately, as the CDC advises.
5. Tape lithium battery terminals, or bag each battery separately.
6. Stick to containers of 5 gallons or less, and do not leave chemicals in a hot car.
7. Bring your driver's license and a current utility bill.

Why can't a junk removal crew take hazardous waste?

Because the landfills and transfer stations a junk truck unloads at will not accept it. Dallas's Bachman transfer station lists chemicals, paint and other hazardous waste as not accepted, and Garland's Hinton Landfill turns away liquid paint, pesticides, pool chemicals, motor oil, oil filters, lead-acid batteries and liquids. The county center is for residents' own household products and refuses business waste. That is why Junk Koala Dallas does not accept paint, solvents, fuel, asbestos or other hazardous materials.

The practical answer is to set them aside. Box the cans and bottles in a corner, and the crew clears everything around them, priced by the space the load takes in the truck rather than by the hour. When clearing out a whole garage, do the chemical run first. How a load is sorted after pickup explains where the rest goes, and the estate cleanout guide covers sorting a relative's whole house.