Technical Services

Household Hazardous Waste Program

The Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection program is a means for the host, community, and/or government to offer homeowners and occupants an alternative to landfill. The majority of the hazardous materials used in the homes today can either be recycled or re-used. In fact, on average, more than 95% of waste materials collected at these events are handled in an alternate treatment or recycling method.

In general, a Household Hazardous Waste Collection works as follows:

1. Heritage sets up a collection site to accept the waste materials from local homeowners.
2. As the homeowners arrive, Heritage unloads their cars.
3. The waste is initially segregated and sent to different areas of the collection site for repackaging.
4. The individual packaging areas prep the materials for shipment, either through bulking, consolidation or repackaging to ensure that all DOT regulations are met. In most states, this waste is exempt from the EPA regulations; however, the DOT considers this material regulated.
5. Once the waste is repackaged, the material is loaded and transported to the proper disposal/recycling facility for final processing.

These events are very popular and generate large volumes of waste for recycling or reuse that would normally end up in the landfill. For particular corporations, this has been a tremendous public relations event for both employees and the community.

For information about our Environmental Assistance Program, click here.