Reminder: the following service is for City of Escondido residents only
- If you live outside the City of Escondido, call 1-877-713-2784 for County of San Diego Residents Hazardous Household Waste hotline.
- City of Escondido residents only, click here to schedule an appointment at our household hazardous waste facility.
Hazardous waste in my home?
There are many types of hazardous waste in the average home. Items such as batteries, paint, drain cleaners and bleach can hurt our environment if not disposed of properly.
How can I reduce household hazardous waste (HHW) in my home?
USE IT UP! If you use all of a product with hazardous ingredients in accordance with label directions, there is no HHW to manage. Containers that once held a hazardous product are not considered HHW if they are completely empty. If you can't use it up, see if someone else can use the remaining product.
Where can I dispose of HHW?
For your convenience, we operate a household hazardous waste facility located at 1044 West Washington Avenue in Escondido (see map).
This facility is open on an appointment-only basis, two Saturdays per month, to City of Escondido residents only. Please click here or call (760) 745-3203 between 8am and 5pm, Monday – Friday to find out the available dates and schedule an appointment. This will ensure that we efficiently process and serve our customers. When you arrive for your appointment, use the center express lane and follow it all the way to the back of our facility. Do not stop at scales.
For more information please call (760) 745-3203 or click here to schedule an appointment.
Residential Customers Can Recycle your Household Batteries at Escondido Disposal
 Did you know that Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year to power radios, toys, cellular phones, watches, laptop computers, and portable power tools? Dry-cell batteries include alkaline and carbon zinc (9-volt, D, C, AA, AAA), mercuric-oxide (button, some cylindrical and rectangular), silver-oxide and zinc-air (button), and lithium (9-volt, C, AA, coin, button). On average, each person in the United States discards eight dry-cell batteries per year.
Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion process. Recycling batteries keeps heavy metals out of landfills and the air. Recycling also saves resources because recovered plastic and metals can be used to make new batteries.
One way to reduce the number of batteries in the waste stream is to purchase rechargeable batteries. Nearly one in five dry-cell batteries purchased in the United States is rechargeable. Over its useful life, each rechargeable battery may substitute for hundreds of single-use batteries.
Residential customers can now conveniently recycle your household batteries (AAA, AA, C, D, and 9V only) for FREE at Escondido Disposal (during operating hours only).
Escondido Disposal, Inc.
1044 W. Washington Ave.
Escondido, CA 92025
(760) 745-3203
Important Information on Sharps Waste
New State Regulations
In September 2008, State law (Section 118286 of the California Health and Safety Code) made it illegal to dispose of sharps waste in the trash or recycling containers, and required that all sharps waste be transported to a collection center in an approved sharps container.
Section 117671 of the California Health and Safety Code defines "home-generated sharps waste" as hypodermic needles, pen needles, intravenous needles, lancets, and other devices that are used to penetrate the skin for the delivery of medications derived from a household, including a multifamily residence or household.
In addition to prohibiting the disposal of sharps waste in the trash, the Medical Waste Management Act requires home-generated sharps to be placed in approved containers for transport and disposal. Users should store the sharps waste in red bio-hazardous containers for easy identification or other approved containers.
Bio-hazard containers are available for purchase by consumers. Additionally, some jurisdictions have containers available at no cost. Information can be found at county health websites.
Bio-hazard containers can be disposed of in one of four ways:
- Taken to a local household hazardous waste facility;
- Taken to a medical waste generator facility (hospitals, clinics, or doctors’ offices);
- Shipped through a mail-back program;
- Taken to an approved home-generated sharps waste collection location.
Residential customers can now conveniently dispose of sharps FREE at Escondido Disposal (during operating hours only). LOOSE SHARPS ARE NOT ACCEPTED. Store sharps in approved sharps containers or in a rigid, puncture resistant, tightly sealed container, including: bleach bottles, liquid detergent bottles or coffee cans with lids. DO NOT STORE IN: paper or plastic bags, glass containers, cardboard or coated paper containers, plastic bottles that have a CRV (CA Redemption Value) or milk jugs.
Escondido Disposal, Inc.
1044 W. Washington Ave.
Escondido, CA 92025
(760) 745-3203
To find a location to properly dispose of home-generated sharps, go to the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s Medical Waste Disposal Directory.
For more information, visit CIWMB's Sharps web page.
Click here for detailed information about the new state regulations.
Universal Waste
The following universal wastes may not be placed out for curbside collection or disposed of in a bin/container meant for solid waste:
- Common Batteries – AA, AAA, D cells, C cells and button batteries (e.g. hearing aid batteries)
- Fluorescent tubes and bulbs including mercury containing lamps
 Electronic Devices – televisions, computers and computer monitors, printers, VCR’s, cell phones, telephones, radios and microwave ovens
- Pilot Light Sensors – Mercury containing switches are found in some gas appliances such as stoves, ovens, clothes dryers, water heaters, furnaces and space heaters
- Items containing Mercury – Gauges, thermometers, thermostats and switches
- Non-Empty aerosol cans that contain hazardous materials – cans that are labeled with TOXIC or FLAMMABLE that are not completely empty
For more information please call (760) 745-3203 or click here to schedule an appointment. |
