MARQUETTE COUNTY -- What is household hazardous waste? According to the Marquette County Solid Waste Management Authority, hazardous household waste is anything that comes with high alert warning labels that include words like danger, poison, flammable or caustic.  The landfill collects these items on certain days, so that means you need to store them until that time.  

Household hazardous waste includes things like nail polish and remover, car batteries, motor oil and filters, certain paints and non-regulated home medical waste.  They also accept rechargeable household batteries, but not the standard and alkaline batteries.

"We don't accept the regular household batteries that aren't rechargeable because they can't be recycled right now.  I've talked to the battery manufacturers and even they cannot recycle their batteries, their rejected batteries from the factory, because there aren't any options available for them," said Rick Aho, Director of Marquette County Solid Waster Authority.

In reality, the best thing to do with household hazardous waste is to use it up as much as you can or give it to someone else to use.  However, if you do need to dispose of it, make sure all of the materials are in a box.  If that starts to leak, place it in a clear plastic bag.  Be careful not to mix chemicals or transfer them into other containers and make sure they are clearly labeled.  As for old latex paint, they do not accept it, but that doesn't mean you take the can and just trash it.

"It's best to dry them out, and some haulers, some garbage men, won't pick it up because they think it might be oil-based paint.  They really don't have time to look at it and to find out whether it is or not, and they don't want to take it.  So it's best to dry it out in one way or another," added Aho.

Remember these are for the Marquette County area.  They will be collecting household hazardous waste again in May, and they will be posting the dates and collection sites on their website.  You can find more on that topic and much more by checking out the Green Tuesday page.  While you are there, be sure to pass along your ideas and questions about making the world a little greener.  You can also join in a discussion on the Green Tuesday forum where you can exchange ideas about what you do to be more green.