Pinellas County’s household chemical program starts with two questions: who generated the material and what exactly is it? The free HHW route is for County households. Businesses, hobbyists, haulers, and nonprofits use a separate route, even when the container looks like something accepted from a home.

Make a list before loading the vehicle. A plug-in television, a laptop with a rechargeable battery, a car battery, and an e-bike battery do not share one published route.

Make an inventory before choosing the site

List each product or device, container size/count and condition. Compare that inventory with the County’s accepted list and per-vehicle limits below. Keep government-issued identification ready for the residency check. Staff evaluate loads on arrival, so an under-limit list is not a guarantee of acceptance.

For an unknown, damaged or unlisted item, contact Solid Waste at 727-464-7500 before arranging transport. The page’s separate business-collection route also applies to over-limit quantities; do not assume a household load is exempt from the published limits. Current program

Match the item to the published limit

The current HHW page lists these notable per-vehicle, per-day boundaries:

  • oil and antifreeze: five gallons each;
  • gasoline and diesel: two five-gallon DOT containers total, with no tanks;
  • fluorescent bulbs: 12;
  • paint, stain, and solvent containers: 20 one-gallon and five five-gallon containers total;
  • vape devices: 12; and
  • e-bike batteries: one.

The program also lists household cleaners, adhesives, aerosols, lawn and garden chemicals, pool and spa products, signal flares, named batteries, and devices whose rechargeable battery cannot be removed. Commercial or industrial-grade material is not accepted through this household list.

Do not infer a destination for something that is not named. Use the County’s linked Where Does It Go search or contact Solid Waste for the exact item.

Separate batteries from ordinary electronics

Pinellas County’s electronics guidance draws a useful line:

  1. remove a rechargeable battery when it can be removed and use a battery route;
  2. when the rechargeable battery cannot be removed, take the whole device to a battery drop-off route; and
  3. do not treat an ordinary plug-in electronic without a rechargeable battery as HHW.

The HHW exclusion list names computer monitors, televisions, and other plug-in electronics. It also excludes fire extinguishers, propane tanks over one pound, appliances, medicine and sharps, and large non-sealed lead-acid vehicle batteries and large deep-cycle lithium marine batteries. Each excluded class needs its own current destination check.

Pack the load for staff access

The County’s packing instructions say to place containers in a box or tray and use crumpled newspaper to prevent breakage. Put a leaking container in a clear sealed bag, then place it in a box or tray. Keep chemicals in a trunk or truck bed away from passengers, and never mix chemicals.

The HHW Center instructions have residents unload chemicals after the ID check. At HHW North, customers remain in the vehicle and place items in the trunk, truck bed, or trailer so staff can reach them. That means “in the back seat” is not an equivalent loading plan.

If material is actively reacting, smoking, bulging, releasing strong fumes, or otherwise unsafe, do not use this checklist as emergency direction. Move away from danger and contact the appropriate emergency authority.

Choose between the two County facilities

The standing page lists:

  • HHW Center, St. Petersburg: Tuesday through Friday and the first and third Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and
  • HHW North, Clearwater: selected Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Those are source-date statements, not a promise that a facility is open when you leave home. Check the live calendar and any weather notice. The former August 22 event reference is past. Use the standing page’s linked HHW calendar to choose an operating date; a saved event page is not today’s opening confirmation.

Municipal collection events are managed by the named municipality. Do not transfer one city’s eligibility or date to the County facilities or another municipality.

Keep a minimal outcome record

Retain the list, calendar screenshot or printed page, date, facility, and any staff instruction or rejected-item route. If a product is not accepted, write down the exact reason and next source rather than leaving it at a facility or improvising a disposal method.

Source and method

Local Service Ledger rechecked the complete operative HHW page and electronics explainer on September 21, 2026 and removed the stale August event citation. We mapped the published customer, item, limit, packaging, identification, facility, and schedule fields. We did not inspect material, transport a load, visit a facility, or ask staff to approve a hypothetical item.