Some jobs around the home may require the use of products containing hazardous components. Such products may include certain paints, cleaners, stains and varnishes, car batteries, motor oil, and pesticides. The used or leftover contents of such consumer products are known as “household hazardous waste.” These materials need to be treated in a special way and should not be thrown away with other household garbage. Brunswick County offers a Household Hazardous Waste collection day on the third Saturdays of April and September each year. For information about Brunswick County's "Hazardous Household Waste Program", call the Brunswick County Solid Waste & Recycling Office at 253-2520.

Americans generate 1.6 million tons of household hazardous waste per year. The average home can accumulate as much as 100 pounds of household hazardous waste in the basement or garage and in storage closets. When improperly disposed of, household hazardous waste can create a potential risk to people and the environment. This page describes steps that people can take to reduce the amount of household hazardous waste they generate and to ensure that those wastes are safely stored, handled and disposed of. (From the EPA website, noted below.)

You can learn more about household hazardous waste at the EPA's website.

Disposing of Household Hazardous Waste

If you must dispose of household hazardous waste at home, please follow household hazardous waste disposal guidelines.

Brunswick County Asbestos Policy

Asbestos is to be received at only the Brunswick County Construction And Demolition (C&D) Debris Landfill in Bolivia, and not at any other County solid waste collection site. In order to be accepted at a C&D landfill in North Carolina, asbestos must be packaged in accordance with North Carolina Solid Waste Management Rule .0505(11)(d) and Code Of Federal Regulations 40CFR61 that state:

1.       Asbestos must be wet down.

2.       While wet, asbestos must be placed in leak-proof containers or wrapping.

3.       Asbestos-containing containers or wrapping must be labeled in a clear and readily-visible manner as "Asbestos-containing Material".

The above are the minimum requirements that a party bringing asbestos to any landfill in North Carolina would have to meet. Any landfill can impose stricter requirements or refuse to accept asbestos altogether.

The Brunswick County C&D Landfill further requires that if asbestos is in a leak-proof wrapper instead of a container, it must be packaged in the following manner to be accepted:

1. Asbestos must be wet down.
2. While wet, asbestos must be placed in leak-proof wrapper that must equal at least 2-mil plastic in thickness. (This may be 1 bag of 2-mil plastic or 2 bags of 1-mil plastic.) The plastic must be sealed in order to be leak-proof.
3. This leak-proof wrapper then must be placed in a burlap bag to prevent the wrapper from being punctured.
4. The burlap bag then must be wet down once more.
5. Asbestos-containing containers or wrapping must be labeled in a clear and readily-visible manner as "Asbestos-containing Material".

This may sound inconvenient, but it is for the protection of you, your family, and your neighbors, as well as the environment. All types of asbestos are hazardous and may cause lung disease and cancer.

To learn more about the health effects of asbestos, see the EPA's website.

If you see illegal disposal of asbestos, please call the Brunswick County Solid Waste & Recycling Office immediately at 910-253-2520 or 888-445-2502.