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Household hazardous waste in Orange County: the four county drop-off centers
Household hazardous waste in Orange County, meaning leftover paint, pool chemicals, motor oil, pesticides, propane, batteries and old fluorescent tubes, goes to one of four county collection centers in Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Irvine and San Juan Capistrano, never into your trash cart or a junk hauler's truck. Below: where each center is, what it takes, the per-trip limit and where paint can go instead. The rest of the garage is a job for a garage cleanout.
What counts as household hazardous waste
OC Waste & Recycling, the county agency that runs the landfills, calls a product household hazardous waste (HHW) when it is a leftover that contains corrosive, toxic, ignitable or reactive ingredients. The county's own examples: paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, smoke detectors and pesticides.
State law is blunt about where these do not go. CalRecycle says it is illegal to throw hazardous waste in the garbage, pour it down a storm drain or dump it on the ground, since it can harm health and cause fires. If you see someone dumping hazardous waste, the county says to call 1-800-69-TOXIC.
Sources: OC Waste & Recycling: Household hazardous waste; CalRecycle: Waste banned from the trash; CalRecycle: Household hazardous waste; OC Waste & Recycling: Illegal disposal.
The four HHW collection centers: addresses, days and hours
Orange County residents can drop off household hazardous waste free at any of the four county centers. They run as a drive-through: follow the signs to the drop-off lane, pop the trunk, and county staff take it from there.
| Center | Address |
|---|---|
| Anaheim | 1071 N. Blue Gum Street, 92806 |
| Huntington Beach | 17121 Nichols Lane, Gate 6, 92647 |
| Irvine | 6411 Oak Canyon, 92618 |
| San Juan Capistrano | 32250 Avenida La Pata, 92675 (at Prima Deshecha Landfill) |
All four open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., as of November 2026. They close on major holidays and in rainy weather. The posted holiday list includes Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26, 2026) and New Year's Day (Jan. 1, 2027). The county's information line is 714-834-4000.
A county notice updated December 5, 2025 says the City of Irvine and the county agreed to extend the Irvine center's license for up to one year while a new permanent site is identified. Check the county's locations page before you go.
The centers serve households only. They are not permitted to take waste from businesses, churches, schools, nonprofits or government agencies, or from anyone who lives outside the county, and staff may ask for proof that you live in Orange County.
Sources: OC Waste & Recycling: Household hazardous waste; OC Waste & Recycling: HHW locations and hours; OC Waste & Recycling: HHW pickup; OC Waste & Recycling: Drive-thru HHW centers; OC Waste & Recycling: Irvine HHWCC notice; OC Waste & Recycling: Prima Deshecha Landfill.
What the centers take, and what they turn away
The county's fact sheet, revised July 2026, groups accepted items roughly like this:
- Car care: motor oil, antifreeze, brake and transmission fluid, fuel additives, starter fluid and car batteries.
- Fuels: diesel, kerosene, gas/oil mix, propane tanks up to 5 gallons and fire extinguishers up to 40 pounds.
- Pool, cleaning and garden products: non-industrial pool chemicals, drain and toilet cleaners, driveway sealer, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.
- Workshop and paint supplies: oil or latex paint, paint thinners and turpentine, strippers, aerosol cans and glues.
- Batteries, bulbs and mercury: household and e-bike batteries, fluorescent tubes and bulbs, mercury thermostats and thermometers.
- Sharps in a puncture-proof container. California bans home-generated sharps from trash and recycling carts.
- Electronics: TVs, monitors, computers, tablets, printers, home microwaves and photovoltaic solar panels.
Smoke detectors are on the list too, though the county says one with no radioactive material can go in the trash once the battery is out. Nothing is destroyed on site, so wipe phones and drives first.
On the refused list: asbestos, ammunition, explosives, marine flares, helium tanks, high-pressure cylinders such as scuba and oxygen tanks, biological and commercial waste, prescription medication and tires. Most medicine can go in the trash, the county says, if you take steps against accidental swallowing. For a disposal appointment for items such as boats, campers, jet skis, vitamins or powdered substances, the county says to call 714-834-4000.
Sources: OC Waste & Recycling: HHW fact sheet (July 2026); OC Waste & Recycling: Household hazardous waste; OC Waste & Recycling: Smoke alarms and detectors; OC Waste & Recycling: Medication and sharps disposal.
The 15-gallon limit per trip, and how to pack the car
Each vehicle may carry at most 15 gallons or 125 pounds of hazardous waste per trip. The county calls this a Department of Transportation requirement and adds plainly: "It is illegal to exceed these limits." A garage with years of paint and pool chemicals can hold more than that, so plan two or three trips instead of one overloaded run.
The container rules:
- No container larger than five gallons.
- Keep products in their original containers, except motor oil, fuels and antifreeze.
- Every container needs a lid and a label, with no leaks, packed so it cannot break.
- Never combine wastes, and never pour oil-based paint in with latex.
Once a can or bottle is truly empty, take the lid off and it can go in your regular trash.
Take something home: the Materials Exchange
Before buying stain or pool supplies, check the Materials Exchange shelves at the same four centers. Orange County residents can take home partially used household, yard and car care products free, and you do not have to drop anything off to shop. The limit is five items per household each week.
Universal waste: what California bans from the trash
Universal waste is hazardous waste that homes and many kinds of businesses produce in quantity. The state's Universal Waste Rule eases the handling rules for these items so that they get managed safely and stay out of the trash. None of them may go in your cart:
- Batteries of every kind: AAA, AA, C, D, 9-volt, button cells, rechargeables and lead-acid car batteries. Batteries also start fires that injure workers at sorting plants.
- Lamps: fluorescent tubes and bulbs, metal halide and sodium vapor lamps. CalRecycle also says to keep LED lights out of the trash, since they often contain toxic metals.
- Electronic devices: TVs, monitors, laptops, printers, radios, microwaves and cell phones.
- Mercury items: mercury thermostats and thermometers, old barometers, old blood pressure gauges and novelty toys with mercury.
The county centers take the batteries, fluorescent lamps, electronics and mercury thermostats and thermometers. City options for electronics are in our e-waste disposal guide.
Sources: Mission Viejo universal waste fact sheet; CalRecycle: Waste banned from the trash; OC Waste & Recycling: HHW fact sheet (July 2026).
Paint disposal in Orange County: PaintCare drop-off
Leftover paint has a second free route. PaintCare, the paint program CalRecycle oversees, runs drop-off sites across California, and it shows 822 year-round sites statewide as of November 2026. Dropping paint off costs nothing: a PaintCare fee is already built into the price of each new can sold in the state.
- Accepted: house paint, primers, stains, sealers and clear coatings such as shellac and varnish.
- Not accepted: aerosol spray paint, paint thinners, mineral spirits and other solvents, auto and marine paints, art and craft paints, caulk, epoxies and glues. The county centers' own list covers paint thinners, solvents, aerosol cans and glues.
- Container rules: the original can, 5 gallons or smaller, with the maker's label and a secured lid. Open or leaking cans are turned away.
PaintCare says retailers join voluntarily and that typically about twenty percent of a state's paint retailers take part, so not every paint store is a drop-off site; call ahead to confirm hours. Letting paint dry out does not make it trash here: in California, "placing dried paint in the trash is prohibited," though PaintCare sites take it. With 100 gallons or more, counted by container size, PaintCare offers a free Large Volume Pickup.
Find sites with the PaintCare California locator.
Sources: PaintCare California; PaintCare: Products we accept; PaintCare: FAQs.
Why no junk hauler takes household hazardous waste
Whatever a junk removal truck carries has to be accepted where it unloads. Olinda Alpha Landfill in Brea says outright that it does not accept hazardous waste, and its refused list names batteries, chemicals, paints, pesticides, fuels and asbestos. The HHW centers are no way around that either, because they are not permitted to accept waste from businesses, and a hauler is a business. So the paint, propane and pool acid stay with you, for the county route.
If getting there is the hard part, the county offers help. Residents who cannot bring HHW to a center can call 714-834-4000 about the Door-to-Door service, and homebound seniors and disabled residents may qualify for scheduled pickups; the county warns schedules are limited and wait times apply. Some cities add their own: free CR&R pickups in Newport Beach (949-667-4158, per the city's 2022 guide) and San Clemente (877-728-0446), and Tustin's twice-yearly CR&R events for its residents, the next on November 14, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
With the chemicals set aside, the shelving they sat on, the broken patio chairs and the boxes are ordinary junk. Send photos through our quote form or call (657) 822-0016 for a quote, and we carry it out.
Sources: OC Waste & Recycling: Olinda Alpha Landfill; OC Waste & Recycling: Household hazardous waste; OC Waste & Recycling: HHW pickup; Newport Beach: Trash and recycling guide; San Clemente: Trash and recycling; Tustin: Household hazardous waste.
Questions people ask
Where is household hazardous waste disposal near me in Orange County?
Four county centers serve every Orange County resident: Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Irvine and San Juan Capistrano. The table above gives each street address.
Do I need an appointment to drop off household hazardous waste?
You drive in during the posted hours and staff unload the trunk. The county asks for a disposal appointment for items such as boats, campers, jet skis, vitamins and powdered substances.
Can I throw dried-out paint in the trash in California?
No. Dried paint is banned from the trash in California, so take it to a PaintCare drop-off site. An empty container with its lid off can go in the trash, the county says.
Will you take my old paint and chemicals with the rest of the junk?
No, and no hauler can. Set them aside for a county center or PaintCare, and send us photos of everything else.
Related
Garage cleanouts
Years of boxes, broken equipment and clutter cleared so the car fits again
E-waste disposal in Orange County
TVs, computers and batteries: the California rules and OC drop-offs
Orange County landfills
The county's three landfills: where they are and what they take
Construction debris removal
Drywall, cabinets, lumber and remodel debris cleared from the job
How it works
Photos or a call, a quote, then the haul
Get a quote for your junk removal
Send a few photos through the form or call (657) 822-0016, and tell us the city and where the items are.