MCMUA Household Hazardous Waste ("HHW") Programs

General Rules - In 1998, the MCMUA opened a year-round Household Hazardous Waste Facility located at the MCMUA’s Mount Olive Transfer Station. This facility operates by appointment only on most Tuesday and Friday mornings, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Saturday mornings, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and is free of charge to Morris County residents delivering residential HHW (fees are charged, however, for propane cylinders and used consumer electronics.

Out-of-County residents may also deliver their HHW by appointment; however, there is a $1.25 per pound handling fee applied to out-of-county residents that is payable by check at the time of the delivery.

Appointments may be scheduled by calling the MCMUA HHW Hotline at (973) 829-8006, Monday, through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In addition to the permanent HHW Facility, the MCMUA continues to operate several individual HHW Disposal Events at differing locations. At least one HHW Disposal Event per year is held at the Morris County Police & Fire Fighters Training Academy.  All HHW Disposal Events are held either in the spring or the fall and serve Morris County residents with residential HHW (no businesses or municipalities are allowed to participate in HHW Disposal Events).

Businesses or municipalities that generate hazardous waste are directed, instead, to contact the MCMUA offices at (973) 631-5109 concerning disposal of commercial waste.

Also, the MCMUA accepts certain universal wastes generated by businesses, such as used alkaline and rechargeable batteries, fluorescent lamps and ballasts, for recycling at its Recycling Consolidation Center in Dover. Interested parties may contact the MCMUA directly at (973) 631-5109 for more information concerning this program.

If any resident would like to receive a notification concerning future HHW Disposal Events, s/he may contact the MCMUA offices at (973) 285-8390 in order to be placed on the HHW Mailing List.

Acceptable Materials at HHW Programs

There are no maximum amounts of Household Hazardous Waste that Morris County residents must abide by per visit (except for not more than 55 gallons of used motor oil), but materials will not be accepted in containers larger than 5 gallons in size. All materials must be in clearly marked containers with the contents identifiable.

Common examples of acceptable materials include:

Liquid oil-based paints and varnishes, stains, lacquers, paint thinners, aerosol cans, automotive cleaning products, automotive fluids such as oil, antifreeze, etc., gasoline (which must be transported in a certified gas can), kerosene, automobile and household batteries, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, driveway sealant and roofing tar containing coal tar or petroleum distillates, pool chemicals, adhesives, caulks, solvents, photography chemicals, pool chemicals, muriatic acid, caustic cleaning materials, thermometers containing mercury, thermostats containing mercury, fluorescent light bulbs, ballasts, small quantities of asbestos (under 100 lbs., wet down, double-bagged and sealed with duct tape), fire extinguishers, camping stove-sized propane cylinders, BBQ-sized propane cylinders ($5/cyl. charge), computers, monitors, printers, televisions, fax machines, and scanners (Electronics recycling fees start at $3/unit and increase according to the size of the item.  Click here to see a generalize price list for electronics of various sizes.).

Unacceptable Materials at HHW Programs

The HHW programs do not accept any materials in containers larger than 5 gallons in size. We also do not accept dried, hard, solid or empty paint cans as part of the HHW program, but they are accepted for disposal at the transfer stations with your other non-hazardous solid waste. Residents should remove the lids from these cans and both should be disposed of separately with their household garbage (or check your local recycling rules to see if empty paint cans can be placed outside with your recyclable materials).

Do not bring latex or water-based products! Latex paint can be safely disposed of with the garbage when it is dried out. You can dry out latex paint cans by stirring absorbent material, such as cat litter or newspaper, into the paint, and leaving the open paint cans outside for a few days with the lids off. If you have full cans of latex paint, see if you can find someone who can use the paint or donate it to a non-profit organization. If you cannot find an outlet for your full cans of latex paint, pour part of the paint into a heavy duty garbage bag that is lined with absorbent material, such as cat litter, leaving part of the paint in the can and adding more absorbent to the can. Leave both the bag and the can outside for a few days, and when they are hardened they can both be disposed of in the garbage. If you should bring latex paint to the Morris County Household Hazardous Waste Facility, you will be assessed a $1.25 per pound hazardous waste handling fee for all latex products, including grout, spackle, joint compound, and water-based paint.

The HHW Programs do not accept the following materials:

Tires; smoke detectors; medical waste, including pharmaceuticals, syringes and needles; construction materials such as wood, treated lumber, asphalt, or concrete; any appliances such as washers, dryers, freon-containing appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, humidifiers.

Important information to provide when calling for help about hazardous household products:

• What hazardous household products do they have and how much do they have of each?
   
• Has the material been mixed with anything? If so, or if the material is unknown, it will have to be handled at a household hazardous waste collection or commercial hazardous waste facility.
   
• Is the container in good condition? If not, they will need to repackage and re-label the material to store or transport it properly. It is important to keep product labels intact if possible