Household Hazardous Waste

The City of Newburyport in conjunction with the Town of West Newbury will be holding our annual Household Hazardous Waste Day on Saturday, September 9, 2023 from 8 AM to 12 PM. The event will be held at the Newburyport Department of Public Services (DPS) site located at 16A Perry Way (off of Low Street). The event will be held rain or shine and contractors are not able to use this event to dispose of materials. 

Tradebe Environmental Services will be on-site to accept oil-based paints (not latex paint), varnishes, pesticides, pool chemicals, gasoline, and other household hazardous chemicals. Costs are not available at this time. Residents should expect to be charged by the size of the container, not the approximation of the chemicals remaining in the container. Cash and checks (made payable to City of Newburyport) will be accepted. No credit cards. 

To Ensure Safety:

• NEVER MIX CHEMICALS
• NEVER SMOKE while handling hazardous materials
• Do not place waste in plastic garbage bags
• Tighten caps and lids leaving material in original labeled containers
• Sort and pack paint, pesticides, and household cleaners separately
• Pack containers in sturdy upright boxes and pad with newspaper
• Pack your vehicle and go directly to the disposal site

PAPER SHREDDING
In addition to hazardous waste, this event will also feature a paper shredding truck for on-site document shredding. This service will be provided by the Newburyport-based company Shred Source. The first file-size box is free and there will be a $5 charge for each additional box. Cash and checks (made payable to City of Newburyport) are accepted. No credit cards.

Residents with questions are asked to call the City of Newburyport Sustainability Office at (978) 465-4410.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why have a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Day?
Chemicals need to be disposed of in a responsible way. Our trash is incinerated but incineration creates air pollutants and leaves ash behind that then enters our landfills. By hosting an HHW Day, we hope to give residents an opportunity to get rid of these products in a safe manner each year!

Why does it cost so much?
Residents pay the hazardous waste collection directly; there's no intermediary. In fact, the City of Newburyport covers most of the staffing, minimum fees, and set-up costs as to keep prices lower for residents. Most of the materials have a very long expected "lifespan", during which these materials will need to be stored before being disposed of, which contributes to the cost. 

How can I reduce my cost?
Make sure what you have is hazardous waste (see above). Any non-hazardous material that slips through the cracks and gets loaded in will cost you money. You can also try combining loads with neighbors to get to the 10 or 25 gallon mark. DO NOT COMBINE CONTENTS OF THE CONTAINERS. Just the load. 

You're open from 8 AM - 12 PM. When is the best time to come?
For Newburyport and West Newbury residents, the best time to come is mid-morning. We typically see a rush right when we open then a lull before we allow non-residents to enter between the hours of 11 AM and 12 PM.

What can I do to expedite the process?
When packing your vehicle, make sure that you only have hazardous materials that need to be disposed of at a HHW Day (see above) and try to put them into cardboard boxes for easy loading and unloading.

How do I pay?
Cash or checks are the only forms of payment accepted. NO CREDIT CARDS. Checks can be made payable to City of Newburyport. 

Latex Paint: NOT Hazardous Waste!

It is nearly that magical time of the year -- when basements, garages, workshops, etc., can be cleaned out of hazardous wastes! In our ongoing effort to make the event as efficient as possible, we are starting this year's event awareness campaign with a common issue that causes headaches and holdups: Latex Paint. Have paint that needs to be disposed of? Here's how:

If your paint, regardless of type, is still usable, please offer up on any of the numerous peer-to-peer exchange sites. Reuse beats recycle and remediation all of the time! These peer-to-peer exchange sites include:

• Facebook groups such as Newburyport Curb Alert, Buy Nothing Newburyport, Newburyport Virtual Yard Sale, Freecycle Newburyport (Note: for groups, you must have or join Facebook)
• Nextdoor
• Craigslist
• Trash Nothing (TrashNothing.com)

If your paint is not usable or no one wants it, please look carefully at its label to determine your next step.

• If the label on your paint can says any of these words or phrases, bring to Household Hazardous Waste Day:
  • Oil-based
  • Alkyd
  • Solvent or solvent-based
  • "Combustible" warning
• If the label on your paint can says any of these words or phrases, DO NOT bring to Household Hazardous Waste Day:
  • Water-based
  • Latex
  • Acrylic
  • Vinyl
  • Label that says "Clean up with soap and water"

Water-based paint is NOT considered hazardous adn you should pop the lid on your container open and let it dry out then put out with your regular weekly trash. Set out with the lid still off so our trash collectors can see that it is dry. PLEASE be certain it is fully dry so it does not "decorate" the street or near-by cars when collected.

If the label is missing on your container, please bring to Household Hazardous Waste Day.

If you study the label and are unable to determine what type of paint you have, please seek assistance BEFORE bringing it to Household Hazardous Waste Day. Too often, residents bring latex/acrylic/vinyl/water-based paint which ends up causing backups, confusion, and frustration for the resident, other residents in line, and staff and volunteers. Staff and volunteers are unable to assist in sorting and reading your paint cans at the event. If you sort your paints before 5 PM on Thursday, September 8th, you can take pictures of any containers that you are unclear on and send it to TowardZeroWasteNewburyport@outlook.com by 5pm on Thursday. We have a volunteer ready to read your emails and look at your labels that evening and respond on Friday so you know what to do!