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Hazardous waste at home

Even though your canned whipped cream, deodorant, and other products might be completely harmless to use, the empty containers can become hazardous waste when you are done using them.

If not handled correctly, the products might be harmful to both people and the environment. Some products must also be handled in a specific way for them to be recycled.

Here is your guide on how to sort your hazardous waste.

What is hazardous waste?

You might have your personal red box for hazardous waste or you might share them with others. Some red boxed might be in a cabinet placed near your home. No matter the solution, your used spray cans, batteries etc., must be disposed of in these boxes.

Here are some of your typical household items, which must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Other items must be disposed of in a recycling station or pharmacy.

At home

  • Spray cans
  • Chemical bottles
  • Left-over paint
  • Small electronic items
  • Light bulbs (in plastic bags)
  • Batteries (in plastic bags)

Not possible at home

  • Fireworks
  • Ammunition 
  • Left-over medicin
  • Gas canisters
  • Needles

Alternative ways to dispose of hazardous waste

Hand in your hazardous waste at the recycling station

All six recycling stations in Aarhus Municipality accept hazardous waste.

Find the nearest recycling station here.

Find a recycling station

Get hazardous waste collected with bulky waste

Hazardous waste can also be disposed of as bulky waste—ideally along with other items you need collected.

Remember to order pick-up—it’s easy and free.

Order pick-up

Hand in needles and medicine residues at the pharmacy

If you have needles and medicine residues, these must be disposed of by handing them in at your local pharmacy - preferably in their original packing.

Needles must be disposed of in needle buckets, which can be picked up at the pharmacy.

How to use the cabinets

The cabinets for hazardous waste are childproofed.

  • Open the cabinet by sqeezing and twisting the handle. 
  • Put your hazardous waste in one of the red boxes in the cabinet.
  • Close the cabinet when you are done. 

You must dispose of your hazardous waste inside the cabinet. It is not allowed to leave the waste next to the cabinet. 

Learn more about hazardous waste

Hazardous waste contains materials which are harmful to people and the environment.

Therefore, they must be sorted separately from other waste types and handled with special care. Many things qualify as hazardous waste. 

Here are some of your typical household items, which must be disposed of as hazardous waste when used.

Light bulbs

Energy-saving light bulbs contain mercury, which is harmful to people and the environment.

LED-lights, incandescent bulbs, and halogen bulbs do not contain mercury but must still be disposed of as hazardous waste to be recycled.

Remember that light bulbs must be put in a plastic bag before disposing of them in the red box.

Batteries

Batteries must be sorted as hazardous waste, as they contain environmentally harmful materials which must be recycled.

Put the batteries in a clear plastic bag and tie a knot on it.

Larger batteries such as bike and car batteries must be dropped off at the recycling station.

Chemical and cleaning bottles

Bottles containing cleaning products and chemicals, which might have a child-proof lid, must be sorted as hazardous waste. The bottle must be placed upright in the red box for hazardous waste, in its original packing.

The same applies to leftover pesticides, fertilizer, and containers.

Spray cans and other pressurized canisters

Pressuriwed canisters such as deodorants, hair spray, lighter gas, shaving cream, etc. can explode or catch fire if exposed to intense heat or pressure.

This can happen if the canisters are sorted as residual waste and squeezed together in the waste collection truck.

Therefore, they must always be sorted as hazardous waste.

Paint, glue, and lacquer

Paint, glue, and lacquer chemicals often contain environmentally harmful substances.

Therefore, leftovers must be disposed of as hazardous waste. This also applies to dried-up paint.

Larger quantities of paint or chemicals must be dropped off at the recycling station.

Small electronic items

Electronic items contain a number of valuable raw materials such as gold, copper, tantalum, and neodymium, which will be in short supply in the future.

If you sort your used electronics as hazardous waste, these raw materials will be extracted and recycled. Electronics also contain other materials which are harmful to the environment if sorted as residual waste.

 

Download guides and information

Sorting cabinets for hazardous waste

Read the leaflet on hazardous waste for a simple and quick guide on how to sort your hazardous waste in the sorting cabines.

Read the guide

Common red boxes for hazardous waste

Download the leaflet about hazardous waste and get a quick and easy overview of how to sort your hazardous waste in the common red boxes.

Read the guide

Hazardous waste in Aarhus city centre

If you live in Aarhus city centre and use the underground waste containers, you have to dispose of your hazardous waste in the waste cabinets placed around the city.

In the cabinets you can dispose of many things such as spray cans, light bulbs, used batteries, worn-out electronics, and leftover paint.

On the map below, you can find your nearest hazardous waste cabinet or stand for battery disposal.