How to Dispose of Hazardous Materials

How and Where to Dispose of Household Batteries, Electronic Waste, and Household Hazardous Waste

Many of the items we use in our day-to-day lives, such as electronics, batteries, and products to clean or maintain our homes, cars, and yards, must not be placed in your compost (green), recycling (blue), and trash (black) bin. Proper disposal of such household hazardous waste safeguards the health of the community and environment.

To help achieve this, we host quarterly events for electronic waste recycling, have a number of drop-off sites citywide for household battery recycling, and have contracted with CleanEarth to provide residents with a no cost, residential door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program (the door-to-door program is not open to the business community.) Please see your options below. 

Household Battery Recycling

  • Batteries are accepted at a variety of locations around Santa Monica. Please see “Where can I dispose of batteries?” in the FAQ below for an extensive list.
  • Quarterly Santa Monica recycling events
  • If you are out and about outside of Santa Monica, please see additional battery recycling options in neighboring cities and around Los Angeles County. 

Battery and electronic waste drop-off are not accepted at the Santa Monica City Yards outside of the quarterly recycling events. The yards are not open to the public.

Electronic Waste (E-Waste) Recycling

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal

For Residents:

CleanEarth (now Veolia) will visit your home and pick-up household hazardous waste, such as cooking oil, paint, cleaning products, electronics, and more. To schedule a pickup, call (877) 443-2371 or click here to go to the Santa Monica section of the CleanEarth (now Veolia) website.

Do not bring such items to the Santa Monica City Yards. The yards are not open to the public. 

For Businesses:

Click the "In Person" tab below to see if your Santa Monica business qualifies as a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) and to make an appointment.

For large quantity generators, please contact a private vendor to dispose of hazardous waste.




Revised 7/9/2026


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  1. Residents Can Visit the CleanEarth Website

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    To schedule a hazardous waste material pickup through our residential door-to-door household hazardous waste collections program, click here and select Request Pickup.

  1. Residents Can Call CleanEarth

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    In addition to requesting a pickup online, you can call CleanEarth directly at (877) 443-2371 to schedule your residential door-to-door hazardous waste material pickup.

For locations around the city that will take drop offs of individual items such as prescription medication, paint, and batteries please check the Frequently Asked Questions below.

  1. For Qualified CESQG Businesses:

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    The City of Santa Monica operates the CESQG Program to provide small quantity generators operating within Santa Monica with a legal and affordable solution to hazardous and/or universal waste disposal.

    Santa Monica qualifying small businesses can drop off their hazardous waste materials on the second Wednesday of each month between the hours of 8:00am and 2:00pm at the City Yard Facility located at 2500 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, CA  90404. Please email zerowaste@santamonica.gov to schedule your appointment.

    1. Please include the following with any correspondence: business name, phone number, address, contact person.
    2. The appointment and fee will be issued by staff with a follow-up call or email.
    3. All Santa Monica businesses must show their business license when they dispose of waste at the Hazardous Waste Drop-off Center for Small Business.
    4. Payment accepted by Credit Card.

    State and Federal laws require that all businesses that generate or accumulate hazardous and/or universal wastes to comply with regulations for proper disposal of these wastes. Generators of small quantities of hazardous and/or universal wastes may be conditionally exempt from many of the regulations if they deliver the waste to permitted collection sites.

    Your business must be located within the City of Santa Monica and generate less than 220 pounds or 27 gallons of hazardous waste (e.g. paints, solvents, aerosol cans, photographic chemicals, asbestos) per month. Universal wastes such as fluorescent lights, batteries and electronics are not subject to weight or quantity limits but the weights and quantities must be consistent with what would normally be generated by a small business. These guidelines are set out in the Code of Federal Regulations 40 CFR 261.5 and the California Code of Regulations Title 22, Section 66260.10.

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