Household Hazardous Waste

Okaloosa County Hazardous Waste

In an effort to divert hazardous waste from local landfills and dispose of these items responsibly through recycling and reuse, Okaloosa County accepts a variety of household hazardous wastes free of charge to residential customers. This includes, but is not limited to: paints, pesticides, used oil, oil filters, pool chemicals, batteries, gas, solvents, paint products, tar, automotive chemicals, fluorescent bulbs, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, computer monitors, etc.

FREE Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Locations:

Fort Walton Beach (South County)
80 Ready Avenue
Tuesday through Saturday
7 am - 3 pm

Crestview (North County)
1759 South Ferdon Boulevard
Monday through Friday
7 am - 4 pm

NOTE: No appointment necessary. Subject to holiday closures.

Questions? Call 850-301-2013

Health & Safety Information on Household Hazardous Products

What's under your kitchen sink, in your garage, in your bathroom, and on the shelves in your laundry room? Do these household products pose a potential health risk to you and your family?

Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadpdfe.pdf

Here's what they do with hazardous waste collected from Okaloosa County households:

Car Batteries
Used batteries are sold to a battery warehouse where both lead and plastic batteries are reclaimed.

Rechargeable Batteries
We can help you recycle your portable rechargeable batteries as part of the Okaloosa County's hazardous waste program. These batteries are commonly found in cordless power tools, cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, camcorders, digital cameras, and remote control toys. RBRC recycles the following battery chemistries: Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Small Sealed Lead* (Pb). For more information on battery recycling log-on to www.rbrc.org.

Computer Components
Computer equipment, particularly, old monitors have been declared a hazardous waste by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. To visit the EPA's "Plug-In To eCycling" Click Here.

Mobile Phone Recycling
Mobile phones are recycled along with electronics or through a mobile phone recycling company.

Fluorescent Tubes
Fluorescent tubes and other mercury-containing devices are accepted in an effort to minimize mercury contamination to the environment. These materials are recycled and or reclaimed through state of the art technology. For more information, visit http://www.informinc.org/fact_P3fluorescentlamps.php.

Latex Paint
Latex paint is given away or disposed of through solidification and landfilled.

Oil-Based Paint
This type of paint is a little more complex and needs some special handling. It is poured into 55 gallon drums and sent to a company that blends the flammable oil-based paint with other liquid fuels. Then it is disposed of by burning in specially designed boilers.

Pool Chemicals and Pesticides
Again we take special precautions with these chemicals. We pack them in 55 gallon drums in their original containers and fill the air spaces with Styrofoam balls. These "lab-paks" are sent to special hazardous waste incinerators for disposal. Many of the chemicals are given away. Certain acids/bases are neutralized on site and sent to the county's Water and Sewer Treatment Plant.

Used Oil, Fuel and Antifreeze
Old oil, gas and diesel is also burned as a secondary fuel in specially designed boilers. Old antifreeze is neutralized through a special process and sent to a wastewater treatment facility.