Hazardous Waste Disposal in Amarillo

Household hazardous waste is the shelf at the back of every Amarillo garage that nobody wants to deal with. Half full paint cans, a jug of antifreeze, a battery, some weed killer from a previous owner. None of it goes in the cart, none of it goes to the landfill as is, and no junk removal company can legally take it in liquid form, including us. The good news is that almost all of it has a free or nearly free route, and most of those routes are retailers you already drive past.

Latex and water based paint is not hazardous once it is dry. That single fact solves the majority of garage shelf problems in Amarillo.

To dry a can out, pour in kitty litter, sawdust or a commercial paint hardener, stir it, and leave the lid off until it sets solid. A half full gallon takes a day or two. Once it will not run when tipped, it is ordinary waste and can go with the trash, lid off so the crew can see it is solid. We can take dried paint in a load. We cannot take it wet.

Oil based paint, stains, thinners and solvents are a different category entirely. These stay hazardous however long you leave them, and need a household hazardous waste route.

Used motor oil is accepted free by most national auto parts chains, including the ones along Amarillo Boulevard and on Georgia Street. Bring it in a sealed container, ideally the one the new oil came in. Many will also take used oil filters and transmission fluid.

Antifreeze is the one to be careful with. It is sweet tasting and lethal to pets and wildlife, so it never goes down a drain or onto the ground. Call ahead, because acceptance varies more than it does for oil.

Automotive batteries carry a core charge, which means the retailer that sells you the new one will take the old one and credit you for it. There is no reason to ever pay to dispose of a car battery.

Household lithium ion batteries, the ones in tools, laptops, vapes and phones, are the genuine fire risk. They start fires in collection trucks and at transfer stations every year across the country. Tape the terminals and take them to a retailer collection box rather than putting them in any cart.

• Propane cylinders. Exchange cages at hardware stores and gas stations take them. Never in a cart, never in a truck. An empty cylinder with the valve removed can go in a scrap load.
• Pesticides, herbicides and pool chemicals. Household hazardous waste collection only. Never mix them, and never pour them out.
• Fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs. Contain mercury. Hardware stores commonly take them back.
• Smoke detectors. Some contain a small sealed radioactive source. Manufacturers usually take them back by mail.
• Medications. Pharmacy take back programs and law enforcement drop boxes, not the toilet.

Amarillo household hazardous waste collection dates and drop off location: to be confirmed against amarillo.gov before this page goes live.

We are not a hazardous waste contractor and we will not pretend otherwise. What we do is clear everything around it. On a typical garage cleanout the hazardous shelf is four or five items, and the other ninety percent of the space is furniture, boxes, broken equipment and scrap. We will take that in a single visit and leave the hazardous items neatly on one shelf with a note of where each one goes.

If you have already dried the paint out, tell us. It rides along in the load at no extra charge.