For most people in the wider Los Angeles area, getting rid of your trash is a fairly straightforward weekly task. Most households dutifully separate their recyclable items, put their food scraps and other organic trash in the designated bucket, and throw away everything else with the regular waste. When garbage pickup day rolls around, you simply take your trash out to the curb, and the rest is “out of sight and out of mind.” Every once in a while, however, you might find that certain junk items that you haul out to the end of your driveway are not taken away. In some cases, you might even get a notice of a potential fine for attempting to throw away items that are classified as household hazardous waste.

Most homeowners, business owners, and other residents of Los Angeles, however, simply do not know what is officially classified as hazardous waste. In this short article, we explain what exactly household hazardous waste is, along with a detailed explanation of some of the most important rules and regulations regarding proper disposal of these items. Finally, we explain why Junk King Los Angeles is the best option for dealing with electronic waste (e-waste), household hazardous waste, and other hard-to-dispose-of waste items here in Los Angeles.

What is Household Hazardous ⚠️ Waste?

Household hazardous waste, by definition, is any type of waste that is generated by you, as a resident and household, while performing household activities and maintenance in and around your home. This can include waste items that you generate from cleaning your home and property, simple home improvement tasks, car and vehicle maintenance, DIY home retrofits, and other similar activities. Used appliances and electronic items that eventually break down and need to be removed from the home are also today considered household hazardous waste.

Household hazardous waste is different from other types of refuse in the sense that it poses a significant environmental and public health risk if it ends up in a landfill. Most junk items that are classified as household hazardous waste have dangerous chemical components that could leach into the environment as they break down. Some household hazardous waste items contain potential cancer-causing chemicals that could contaminate soils, watersheds, and local air quality.

According to the State Department of Toxic Substances Control here in California, “You may not realize that many common household products are, in fact, hazardous, and if these products are handled or disposed of incorrectly, they can pose a threat to the health of humans, animals, and the environment. So, when these products are discarded, they become household hazardous waste and need to be disposed of through a household hazardous waste facility (HHWF).”

There are hundreds of specific junk items that might be classified as household hazardous waste. Here is a short list to help give you a better understanding.

• Paint cans

• Aerosols

• Used tires

• Any machinery that uses gasoline or diesel

• Some types of construction and demolition (C&D) debris, such as asbestos

• All used electronics

• Used and broken down appliances

• Any household item that uses refrigerant.

As a general rule of thumb, any item that contains heavy metals, refrigerants, or other potentially dangerous and contaminating chemicals that are banned from being landfilled will most likely be officially classified as household hazardous waste.

What to Do with your Household Hazardous Waste in Los Angeles?

Here in the state of California, throwing away used appliances, electronics, and other sources of e-waste with regular trash is now illegal. The same goes for other types of household hazardous waste such as those listed above. If you are caught throwing away household hazardous waste with the rest of your regular trash, you will most be likely notified, and potentially fined by the City government.

If you don’t have the time or the means to haul your household hazardous waste to the nearest collection facility, there is another option. Junk King of Los Angeles, the top-rated junk removal company in the wider Los Angeles metropolitan area, can help you get rid of virtually ALL of your household hazardous waste items.

Our professional junk removal teams can help you get rid of those used car parts that are taking up space in your garage, the 30-year-old refrigerator sitting in your basement, and even those dozens of old cell phones that are gathering dust in your attic. Unlike other junk haulers who may illegally try to dispose of those items in landfills, we are proud to say that we either recycle, donate, or properly dispose of 100 percent of the household hazardous waste items we pick up. In fact, at least 60 percent of the junk items that we haul away are either donated, recycled, or otherwise repurposed. And in the case of special types of trash such as electronic waste, appliances with refrigerants, and other household hazardous waste items, we ensure that 100 percent of those items are kept out of our dumps.

Here at Junk King of Los Angeles, we understand that many individuals and business owners lead busy lives, and might not have the time or the means to take your used computers, refrigerators, air conditioners, and other sources of household hazardous waste to these drop-off and collection facilities. When you hire us for your e-waste disposal and recycling needs, our junk removal professionals will do all of the heavy lifting and hauling for you. Just let us know what household hazardous waste items you need to be taken away, and we will do the rest!

Why Junk King is the Best Option for Helping you Clean up your Home

Most cities and towns in California and around the country today have implemented strict ordinances against throwing away appliances, electronics, and other sources of household hazardous waste together with regular trash. Instead of risking a potentially costly fine, hiring a professional junk removal company like Junk King can make the process of getting rid of hazardous waste items significantly easier and less stressful. Our professional junk removal teams are always able to do all of the heavy lifting and hauling for you. We can even help you with some minor demolitions for larger and heavier items that simply cannot be taken out of the home without prior disassembly.

Furthermore, we here at Junk King also believe that getting rid of any type of waste item should not be excessively expensive. Our company is 100 percent committed to providing all of our commercial and residential customers with fair and transparent pricing mechanisms. We even offer four simple ways to get a direct quote for the different types of junk you need to be hauled away, including free, no-obligation, on-site pricing estimates, a toll-free 1-800 number, text message estimates, and an easy-to-use online pricing estimator.

No matter what option you choose, as soon as a price is agreed upon, you choose a date and two-hour service window that works for your schedule. Our junk removal professionals will call you 15-30 minutes before we show up to promptly take your household hazardous waste and any other junk items you may want to be taken out of your home and off your property.

Dealing with household hazardous waste is never a fun project. With Junk King of Los Angeles, however, we ensure that you can legally, safely, and responsibly dispose of ALL your junk items.  Call us today!