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Waste Management (Hazardous/Bulky) and Recycling

Free Household Hazardous Waste Collection Resources

Disposing of hazardous materials into your containers, down the drain, or by abandonment is illegal. Hazardous waste is any product labeled toxic, poisonous, corrosive, flammable, explosive, or an irritant. Examples include (but are not limited to) antifreeze, automotive fluids, cleaning products, compressed gas cylinders (full or empty), fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides; paint; pharmaceuticals; pool chemicals; sharps waste; solvents; and more.

*Examples of Household Hazardous Waste

LA Sanitation (LASAN) has established programs for Los Angeles City and L.A. County residents to safely dispose of their household hazardous waste, electronic waste and universal waste. These wastes can be dropped off at permanent collection sites known as S.A.F.E. Centers or mobile collection events located throughout the City of Los Angeles. Check out the S.A.F.E. Center flyer for more information and LASAN's Events page for the next mobile event in your area.

For more information on what is accepted and where you can take it, visit CleanLA.com or call 888-CleanLA. To easily find the next local drop off event, check out CLEANLA's calendar.

S.A.F.E. Collection Centers

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Athens Services

Your mixed-use bin is sent to a facility where materials are sorted and recycled. Athens Service's Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) handles up to 1,800 tons of recycling per day. Visit the Sun Valley MRF webpage to learn more about the process.

Bulky Item Pick-Up

Athens Services encourages the reuse and donation of bulky items whenever possible.

If this is not an option, Athens will, upon request only, remove bulky items, including major appliances and furniture. Please do not place bulky items or electronics in your trash containers. Doing so may cause an interruption in your service.

To schedule a pickup, please submit a Bulky Item Request.

Athens does not accept the following items:

Automobile parts
Construction and demolition debris including, but not limited to: dirt, concrete, tile, drywall and rock, etc. Click here to learn how to dispose.
Hazardous waste (including antifreeze; automotive fluids; cleaning products; compressed gas cylinders (full or empty); fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides; paint; pharmaceuticals; pool chemicals; solvents; and more.) Click here to learn how to dispose.
Loose or scattered building material and lumber

There are many ways you can stop waste before it starts. Here are a some valuable resources for a sustainable lifestyle:

Reuse and Recyle Directory

Several stores in town accept items that can be reused or recycled. Check the City's Reuse and Recycle Directory(PDF, 264KB) to find out where.

Repair Café

Visit a repair café near you where people repair household electrical and mechanical devices, computers, bicycles, clothing, etc. These cafes are organized by and for local residents. Tools are available, and volunteers can help fix your broken goods. This helps reduce waste, maintain and learn repair skills, and strengthens community bonding.

Assembly Bill 32 and Assembly Bill 341- California's California’s Mandatory Commercial Recycling Law

Recycling more will directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions in multiple phases of product production; including extraction of raw materials, preprocessing, and manufacturing. A co-benefit of recycling is the methane emissions diverted from landfills. Methane is a byproduct of the decomposition of organic materials. The use of composted organic materials (like food waste) provides environmental benefits such as carbon storage in soils and reduced use of fertilizers, pesticides, and water.

Mandatory Commercial Recycling was one of the measures adopted in the Assembly Bill 32 (AB32) Scoping Plan by the Air Resources Board pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act. AB341 also supports Mandatory Commercial Recycling, as well as sets a statewide goal for 75% disposal reduction by the year 2020. For more information, visit Cal Recycle.

Our current culture of consumption is unsustainable. A zero waste approach conserves natural resources and reduces pollution. Community-based zero waste strategies like composting at a community garden, tool sharing and skills sharing to reuse and repair, build capacity to reduce waste and costs. Everyone can participate in protecting our environment.