#1 - Recycle
Empty aerosol cans that contained non-hazardous substances, such as hair spray, sun screen, and cooking oil spray can be placed in your blue bin for recycling. They can also be taken to OCRRA’s Rock Cut Road Drop-Off Site for recycling.
Aerosols that contain non-hazardous materials: If you can’t find someone to donate your extra material to, the non-hazardous contents can be emptied by spraying them into a garbage can. Then place the empty can in your blue bin.
Most aerosol cans are steel containers pressurized with propellants, (e.g. butane). When the aerosol can is EMPTY, the propellant and the product are gone, so they are no longer hazardous and can be disposed of in the blue bin.
When spray cans are recycled they are shredded and melted down to make new steel.
#2 - Reduce
Remember to plan ahead when purchasing, buy only the amount of product you need so you don’t have to dispose of excess later.
#3 - Reuse
If the can is functional and the product is still usable, give it to someone who can use it. This waste reduction effort has the added bonus of spreading good will! Click here for links to reuse options.
#4 - Dispose
Aerosols that contain or previously contained PAINT of any type:
If the are completely empty, place them in the trash. If they still contain paint, bring them to OCRRA’s Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off. You must make a reservation in advance.
While OCRRA provides this service for free, in reality, it costs about $50 per vehicle, to safely manage these materials!
Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Offs are just one of the many great services OCRRA provides our community. OCRRA’s services are predominantly funded by trash disposal fees and the revenue generated by the sale of electricity at the Waste-to-Energy Facility.
