If you have questions and concerns regarding our collection program, the following information should help address them for you.

Click here for an alphabetized list of what goes in each cart.

You can take hazardous materials to a household hazardous waste facility. Call the Household Hazardous Waste Line at 800-606-6606 or visit their site online at www.household-hazwaste.org.

Refrigerators contain freon and are considered hazardous. Therefore, recycling companies will only accept them for a fee. For a list of companies that accept refrigerators, call the Alameda County Recycling Hotline at 1-877-STOPWASTE or visit them online at www.stopwaste.org. It is illegal to landfill appliances in California.

The Davis Street Transfer Station (2615 Davis Street) accepts refrigerators for $35.00. Or JACO (800-741-0172) will pick up appliances from your home – call for fees and services.

You can leave tree trimmings at the curb, but they must be cut down and contained properly. Branches and prunings can be no larger than 6 inches in diameter and no longer than 4 ft in length. Branches and prunings must be bundled for collection. If you are going to leave extra tree trimmings at the curb it is best to notify ACI before your scheduled collection day.

No. Milled wood is generally not accepted in your yard trimmings cart, particularly if the wood contains nails or is painted or treated. The material that is collected from your yard trimmings cart is sent directly to a composting facility. It is not sorted before processing. Nails can break the composting equipment and chemicals can severely degrade compost quality.

Milled wood should be taken to the Davis Street Transfer Station (2615 Davis Street) for recycling or disposal.

You can take them to the Davis Street Transfer Station (2615 Davis Street for a fee (prices start a $7.50 a piece). Or, if the fixtures are in good shape you can donate them to a reusable building materials store. For a list of stores, call the Alameda County Recycling Hotline at 1-877-STOPWASTE or visit them online at www.stopwaste.org.

Until recently, households and some small businesses were allowed to put common batteries, electronic devices, and fluorescent light bulbs in the trash. Homeowners could also throw away mercury-containing thermostats in the same manner. As of February 9, 2006, however, these items must be treated like the hazardous universal wastes they are.(See chart below for complete list of universal wastes.)

It is illegal to dispose of universal or hazardous waste in the garbage. By throwing toxic wastes in the garbage, you can cause additional hazards not only to your garbage handler but to all of us. Eventually, chemicals in illegally disposed hazardous waste can be released into the environment and contaminate our air, water, and possibly the food we eat.

Alameda County’s Household Hazardous Waste Program collects universal waste at its drop-off facilities. For detailed information, log onto www.household-hazwaste.org or call 1-800-606-6606. Many retailers also collect certain universal wastes. Next time you visit your favorite store, be sure to ask if they have any collection/recycling programs available for their customers.

For more information on universal waste, go to the website for The State of California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control www.dtsc.ca.gov.

Common Batteries	AA, AAA, C cells, D cells and button batteries (e.g. hearing aid batteries)	Corrosive
Fluorescent Tubes and Bulbs and Other Mercury-Containing Lamps	Fluorescent light tubes and bulbs, high intensity discharge (HID), metal halide, sodium, and neon bulbs	Toxic Metal
Electronic Devices	Televisions, computer monitors, cell phones, telephones, radios, microwave ovens, electric space heaters	Toxic Metal
Thermostats	“Tilt switch” of the old style thermostats	Toxic Metal
Pilot Light Sensors	Stoves, ovens, clothes dryers, water heaters, furnaces and space heaters	Toxic Metal
Mercury Gauges	Some gauges, such as barometers, manometers, blood pressure	Toxic Metal
Mercury Added Novelties	Greeting cards that play music when opened; athletic shoes with flashing lights in soles; and mercury maze games	Toxic Metal
Mercury Thermometers	Mercury thermometers typically contain about a half gram of mercury	Toxic Metal
Non-Empty Aerosol Cans that Contain Hazardous Materials	Many aerosol cans contain flammables, like butane, as propellants for products like paint. If your aerosol can is labeled with words like TOXIC or FLAMMABLE	Toxic Metal

Go to www.universalwaste.com and look for a listing of East Bay collection events. Or, contact StopWaste and see what they suggest; www.StopWaste.org or 1-877-StopWaste.

As of September 1st, 2008, it is illegal to dispose of sharps in your garbage. PLEASE DO NOT PLACE SHARPS IN ANY OF ACI'S CARTS/BINS.  Doing so poses a health and safety threat to our workers and to the public in general. Diabetics and other needle users are responsible for proper disposal and should talk to their doctor or pharmacist about the best, easiest and safest method of disposal. Needle users can contact the Alameda County Department of Environnmental Health, visit www.StopWaste.org, or click here for more general information. Appropriate collection containers and drop-off facility are available; call 1-800-606-6606 or email hhwsharps@acgov.org.

You can donate it! Try logging onto www.keepcaliforniabeautiful.org and click on “Donate That Phone.” Also, check out the RBRC’s (Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation? Free take back program for both rechargeable batteries and cell phones at www.call2recycle.com.