Chatham County's Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Center is open the third Saturday from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM from March through November. The center is located at 726 County Landfill Rd. Pittsboro, off of Hwy 64, west of Pittsboro. 

Only residential waste is accepted - no business waste.  

Examples of waste include materials that are:

• Corrosive (examples: oven cleaner, bleach, auto batteries, and other products that can cause skin burns)
• Reactive (examples: include chlorine, lye, some laboratory chemicals, and other products that can explode or emit toxic gases)
• Toxic (examples: pesticides, herbicides, antifreeze, and other poisonous materials)
• Ignitable (examples: gasoline, turpentine, motor oil, and other flammable materials)

Instructions for Disposal

Do not mix the wastes. If possible, leave the materials in their original containers with labels intact.  Put them inside the trunk of your car in a cardboard box lined with newspaper. What not to bring:

• Business waste
• Asbestos
• Explosives
• Infectious wastes
• Radioactive materials

How to Reduce your Hazardous Waste

• Buy only the amount you need, even if a larger container offers a price discount.
• Use up any hazardous products completely, following directions on the label.
• Try less toxic products.
• Find someone who can use your leftovers.
• Recycle if possible. Some stores accept used products, such as automobile batteries or motor oil, for recycling.

Paint Mobile

At Chatham County's HHW Collection Center, approximately 60% of the material brought to the center has been paint. We collect both oil-based and latex paint at our collection center and it is, by far, the most costly item that we collect. The oil-based paint is poured off and recycled. The latex paint, which cleans up with water, is less hazardous than oil-based paint. We save all the good latex paint and donate it at each HHW collection through our Paint Mobile program. Unusable latex paint is either recycled or we dispose of it. Please call our office at (919) 542-5516 for more information about contributing or picking up free latex paint. 

Salvaging Latex Paint

To save our money for handling the more hazardous wastes, we are encouraging people to use up their leftover latex paint, give it to someone else who can use it, or dry it up for disposal.

Listed below are suggestions for reducing paint waste and safe disposal of leftovers:

• Buy the right amount of paint. Paint store staff can help you calculate what you need.
• Properly prepare the surface to be painted so you'll get the maximum results from the paint. This will ensure a longer lasting paint job.
• Store the remaining paint at room temperature until the next project. Properly stored paint can remain usable for 10 - 15 years.
• If you need to dispose of small amounts of leftover latex paint, it is safe to put it in the trash if it is completely dry. To dry it out, take off the lid and let it sit outside in a covered area. Add cat litter, sawdust, or sand to speed up the drying process.