Emergency/Disaster Household Hazardous Waste Guidance

Following an emergency or disaster, vegetative debris and demolition debris may be temporarily stored and/or processed at a debris staging site.  

Household hazardous waste (HHW) from residences impacted by an emergency or disaster must be separated from other debris and transported to a HHW collection facility/location.  

If a county has a permanent HHW collection facility, the household hazardous waste may be brought to the county permanent HHW collection facility or transported by a hauler to a permitted processing and/or transfer facility or a business that can safely reuse the materials.

Commonly, permanent HHW collection facilities are permitted to only accept HHW generated within its county limits.  However, permanent HHW collection facility permits stipulate the specific service area that the facility can accept wastes. 

For county permanent HHW collection facility contact information, go to: Permanent Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facilities.  

A county that does not operate a permanent HHW collection facility may hold a temporary HHW collection event following an emergency or disaster. The collected HHW must be transported from the collection event site by a hauler to a permitted processing and/or transfer facility or a business that can safely reuse the materials.

A temporary HHW collection event application must be submitted to the Solid Waste Section prior to holding a temporary collection event.

More information about Household Hazardous Waste, including temporary HHW collection event information and application, can be found at: Household Hazardous Waste webpage.

A county/municipality should have a plan identifying transport companies, process/transfer facilities, and businesses that can safety reuse the materials. County/municipality staff should receive training in HHW collection practices.
 
Household hazardous waste is commonly transported by hazardous waste haulers and brought to hazardous waste processing/transfer facilities. Hazardous waste haulers and processing/transfer facilities will likely have a federal identification number issued by the authorized state.

 

Contact John Patrone at 336-776-9673 or email: john.patrone@ncdenr.gov for assistance.