Another material you may come across while spring cleaning is old electronics. It may be an old camcorder from 1989, a VHS player from 1996, or a cellphone from 2015. No matter the age, electronics should never be disposed of with your household trash or in your household recycling bin. If you are not able to donate or repair the item, there are two options for recycling your electronics at no cost to you. You can either bring them to one of our electronic waste collection events, or you can take them to a drop off location. There are numerous drop-off locations around Ontario County that make it easy and convenient to recycle your unwanted electronics. Starting January 1, 2023 changes to the NYS legislation means that most electronics can be dropped off at no charge.

Also, new this year we will be accepting VHS tapes, DVDs, and CDs for recycling at our electronic waste collection events.

This spring if you are working in the basement, under the sink, or in the garage you may come across some household hazardous waste and wonder- what do I do with this?! Household hazardous waste should not be poured down the sink, dumped outside, or disposed of with your household trash. We have two household hazardous waste events each year that are free to all Ontario County residents. Registration is required, please see our events page for more details about the event and registration dates.

So, what exactly is household hazardous waste? Automotive fluids, adhesives, cleaning fluids, epoxies/resins, herbicides/pesticides, nail polish & hair removers, rat/mouse poisons, and mothballs are some examples of household hazardous waste. Batteries, LED & fluorescent lightbulbs, and products containing mercury should also be brought to a household hazardous waste event.

Items that are not accepted at the household hazardous waste events are tires*, compressed gas cylinders, explosives, ammunition, radioactive wastes, pathological wastes, infectious waste, medicines*, and freon containing devices. *Other collection programs exist for some materials.

One of the most common things you may need to dispose of are paints, primers, stains, and varnishes. While we do accept these materials at our household hazardous waste events, there is no need to wait for an event to properly dispose of these materials. There are free and convenient drop off locations at local businesses that are open year-round. For a full list of accepted materials and drop-off locations click here.

While the weather this time of the year can keep us guessing, spring is just around the corner. You may be starting to do some spring cleaning and organizing. As you work on decluttering this spring it’s important to donate usable goods so they can have a second life. But it is important to make sure that what you are donating is actually still usable. It’s not fair to burden donation locations with goods that cannot be reused. Ultimately, you are just burdening them with the responsibility of disposing of your garbage. So how do you know what can/should be donated? As a rule of thumb, consider if you would want to purchase this item at a reuse location. Items should not be stained, broken, or missing pieces. All items should be clean and in good condition.

If an item ultimately is not suitable for donation ask yourself why. Taking some time as you dispose of items allows you to consider behavior changes for the future that can help to prevent waste. Buy less, buy used, repair instead of recycling.

What’s even better than donating items? Finding a way to reuse them yourself helps to save resources, times, and money. Get creative and think outside the box for how to reuse an item. Learn how to mend or repair clothing, or take it to a tailor/seamstress. Learn to rewire a lamp or repair a broken piece of furniture.

If your item is ultimately destined for disposal make sure that it is being handled in the best way possible. Check out OntarioCountyRecycles.org for information about how to handle all sorts of items and materials. Also, stay tuned for the next few articles where we’ll talk about some common items you may come across while working on your spring cleaning this year.