Wait! Don’t pour that paint thinner down the drain! Remember: what leaves your home remains in the environment. Toxins dumped down the pipes simply enter the City’s sewer system, often making their way through waste treatment facilities and out into the Pacific Ocean or San Francisco Bay. Likewise, household hazardous waste thrown out with your regular trash pollutes groundwater, creates the potential for fire in landfills, and exposes sanitation workers to possible harm.

So, which household products are toxic and how should they be disposed of?

• Following is a list of the most common hazardous materials and substances discarded from the home:
  
  
  • Antifreeze;
  • Asbestos (asbestos-containing material);
  • Batteries;
  • Cell phones;
  • Computer components;
  • Herbicides;
  • Household cleaners;
  • Light bulbs (florescent, halogen);
  • Motor oil and oil filters;
  • Paint (latex);
  • Paint thinner;
  • Pesticides;
  • Televisions; and
  • Thermometers (mercury).

Of course, you might come across other harmful household products not on this list. As a rule of thumb, if you see a warning label about the toxicity or dangers of a certain product, be sure to treat it as hazardous when you throw it out.