Residents

Why is recycling beneficial for Ohio residents? Recycling protects our environment and makes our community a better place in which to live.

How can these benefits be measured? The Hamilton County Solid Waste District keeps track of recycling activity throughout the county and is excited to inform residents of the impact recycling has in our community:

Recycling creates jobs – strengthening Ohio's economy. Incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates one job; landfilling 10,000 tons of waste creates six jobs; recycling 10,000 tons of waste creates 36 jobs.
Recycling reduces pollution – making the air we breathe cleaner and the water we drink safer. Recycling 35 percent of our trash reduces global warming emissions equivalent to taking 36 million cars off the road.
Recycling saves resources – ensuring we will have them to use in the future. Throwing away a single aluminum can, versus recycling it, is like pouring out six ounces of gasoline. Last year, Americans recycled enough aluminum cans to conserve the energy equivalent of more than15 million barrels of oil.

Each year, Hamilton County residents recycle over 33,500 tons of material. A typical household recycles 500 pounds of material every year – this is equal to the weight of one grizzly bear!

Recycling

Each year, Hamilton County residents recycle approximately 33,500 tons of material through curbside and drop-off programs. The Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District provides residents and community leaders with tools to increase residential recycling.

Recycling in your Community – The majority of Hamilton County communities have some type of recycling program. To find out how to start recycling in your community,
click here.
Recycling Drop-offs –- Do you live in an apartment or a community without curbside recycling? Hamilton County is home to over 50 recycling drop-off sites. To find a recycling drop-off close to your home, click here.
Recycling Process – Find out what happens to your recyclables after you place them at the curb, click here.
Benefits of Recycling – Learn how recycling benefits the environment and local economy, click here.
Recycling Pledge –- Take the pledge to recycle and be entered to win suite tickets to a Reds or Bengals game, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions –- Find answers to your questions about recycling and waste disposal, including how to properly dispose of waste products such as tires, appliances, and hazardous waste, click here.
Recycling in Condomiums and Apartments – Receive free assistance developing recycling programs in multi-family dwellings, click here.
Community Recycling Rates – Find out how much your community recycles each year, click here.
Treasure Chest –- Find local non-for-profit organizations that can use your donations of used or unused materials, click here.
Container Loan Program –- Learn how to integrate recycling at your community’s outdoor festivals, click here.
Award Winning Communities –- Learn about communities that have received awards from the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District, click here.

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Household Hazardous Waste

What is Household Hazardous Waste?
Many of the items you use everyday in home improvement projects, lawn and garden care, and automobile maintenance can be hazardous to your health and the environment if disposed of improperly. Typical hazardous products include pesticides, automotive products, home improvement products (varnish, stain, paint thinner, paint stripper, adhesives), and cleaning products (drain cleaner, pool chemicals, ammonia, bleach). The average home contains 60 to 100 pounds of hazardous chemicals.

To determine if a product is hazardous, check the label for key words like caution, warning, dangerous, and poison.

Why should I properly store and dispose of hazardous products?

Household hazardous products pose a threat when improperly stored or disposed.

Household poisonings are the second leading cause of death related to injury in Hamilton County (tied with firearms).
Throwing away hazardous waste in your garbage can injure your waste collector when hazardous waste reacts with other materials in the garbage truck.
Dumping hazardous waste down the drain interferes with the wastewater treatment process.

Search our database of permanent outlets for your household hazardous waste.

Free Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Program
CLOSED SATURDAY, AUGUST 30!

Every year, the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District operates a free hazardous waste drop-off program for Hamilton County residents. The program is typically open from March through October.

The Hamilton County Solid Waste District covers 100% of the cost of this service for Hamilton County residents to encourage proper disposal of household hazardous waste. The District pays $28.50 every time a resident drops off waste through this program. We encourage you to reduce your hazardous waste by only purchasing the amount of product you use and purchasing non-hazardous alternatives. To be placed on our mailing list, contact us.

Learn more about our Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off program.

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Computers and Electronics

Computers and electronics are the fastest growing waste streams. More than 100 million computers, monitors, and televisions become obsolete each year in the U.S., according to the Government Accountability Office. In fact, 70 percent of Americans have stockpiles of used or unwanted computers in their home, according to Hewlett-Packard.

Computers contain valuable resources such as copper, aluminum and gold. For this reason, residents are encouraged to recycle their old computers.

There are many outlets for residents to properly recycle their old computers. Click on the following links to find out how:

Hamilton County Sponsored Computer Recycling Event

Greater Cincinnati Computer Recyclers

Computer Manufacturer Take Back Programs

TV Recycling

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Yardwaste

Yardwaste amounts to nine percent of all material entering local landfills.Yardwaste includes leaves, grass clippings, brush, branches, Christmas trees, and prunings. There are several easy ways to recycle yardwaste instead of throwing it away:

Free Yardwaste Drop-off Sites – Three sites throughout Hamilton County where residents can drop-off their yardwaste for free, click here.
Yardwaste Management in your Community – Find out if your community offers curbside collection of yardwaste, click here.
Backyard Composting – Recycle your yardwaste in your backyard. Find out how to start your own compost pile, click here.
Master Composter Classes – Join a class and become a Master Composter, click here.
Compost Demonstration Sites – Experience a demonstration on how to get started, see different types of bins and learn how to maintain a compost pile, click here.
Vermicomposting – Learn how to compost indoors, with help from worms, click here!
Compost Bins – Learn how to make or where to purchase a compost bin, click here.
Yardwaste at Home Handbook – Download the publication, click here.

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Publications

Numerous publications on residential recycling are available for on-line reading or to download for future reference. Visit our publications page to access these.

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