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Household hazardous waste collection center resources

Batteries

Batteries may create a hazard during transport. Consider the following U.S. Department of Transport (U.S. DOT) advisories when preparing batteries for transport:

  • U.S. DOT Advisory.  This April 3, 2009, advisory identifies the hazards posed by improper transport of batteries, confirms that all batteries are subject to DOT standards requiring packaging to prevent short circuiting, and identifies the standard can be met by packing each battery in fully enclosed inner packaging made of nonconductive material or separating the batteries from each other and other conductive material in the same package, and packing the battery to prevent damage and shifting while in transport. 
  • U.S. DOT Letter.  This June 23, 2009, letter clarifies when the hazardous materials regulation apply to the transport of 1.5 volt dry cell batteries. 
  • U.S. DOT Advisory.   This October 7, 2009, advisory clarifies the hazards associated with the transport of lithium batteries, including those involved in air travel in personal portable electronic equipment (laptops, cell phone, etc.) and describes the requirements for safe transport.  
  • U.S. EPA Information. This site is an on-line resource about batteries from the US EPA.

Medications

Medications should be stored in their original containers and kept secure so they cannot be easily accessed by others.  When medications are no longer needed, they should be disposed through a residential takeback program where possible.  They should not be flushed down the drain.  Studies have shown that medications entering our wastewater are generally not removed by the wastewater treatment process.  Therefore, takeback programs that incinerate the chemicals are encouraged.  If a collection is not available follow our safe disposal recipe for disposing of unwanted medications in the regular trash.  The following resources and more are available at www.michigan.gov/deqdrugdisposal for HHW collections, municipalities, and healthcare to share with patients to help residents properly manage medications to prevent drug abuse, accidental death and minimize the amount of medications reaching our water resources:

*Note: These resources may not reflect Michigan's specific requirements, so you should still view our recorded webinar and review the EHS Guidebook, Chapter 2, for provisions on diverted waste.  And remember, you can always contact EGLE for help.

Other household hazardous waste tools

Water protection resources