Happy Earth Month! April is full of holidays all about going green, from Food Waste Prevention Week to the world-famous Earth Day. As the weather grows warmer, take some time to appreciate our planet's natural beauty by taking a stroll outside or engaging in educational activities related to the holidays below. Remember - it's up to you to help ensure the cleanliness of not only our land, air, and water, but our communities as a whole!

One of the many items that can be brought to RRRASOC Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Events is pill-form medicine. Properly disposing of expired, unused, or unwanted medicine can do more than just protect the environment - it could save a life! Utilize HHW Collection Events to make the process simple and convenient - just bring your pill-form medications in a sealed plastic bag.

Why is It Important?

The majority of unused or expired medicines enter either our solid waste system or our sewage system. Medicines flushed down the drain pass through wastewater treatment plants and may end up directly in our lakes and streams. Medicines disposed of in the garbage and sent to landfills can potentially seep into and contaminate surrounding groundwater. Proper disposal of unused, expired medications also reduces the risk of people consuming or handling medications improperly or illegally.

Can't make it to an HHW Collection Event? Medicines can also be safely dropped off at pharmacies, police departments, or a drug take-back program. Find locations and learn more about proper medicine disposal here.

Disposing of Medical Sharps

Medical sharps can puncture or cut skin, making them a health hazard when handled improperly. This includes needles, syringes, lancets, and auto injectors (such as an insulin pen), which are commonly used at home, at work, and while traveling to manage medical conditions of people and pets.

Medical sharps should be placed in an FDA-approved sharps container or a rigid plastic container that can be sealed and labeled properly. When the sharps container becomes full, be sure to seal and label it, and bring the container to a RRRASOC HHW Collection Event. Containers holding sharps are not accepted in curbside recycling nor at the drop-off sites - they must be placed in the garbage.

The answer is: Not traditionally!

Shredded paper is not accepted in your curbside recycling cart, nor is it accepted at the recycling drop-off sites, as the pieces are too small to make it through the sorting machinery at our Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). The tiny shreds of paper end up making a mess and littering the floor, leading to lengthy cleanups.

Instead, bring your documents to our self-serve paper shredder located at our Southfield recycling drop-off site! This free service saves both time and effort on your end. Simply walk through the doors, read the instructions, and shred your documents with ease! The shredded paper is then collected in-house, ensuring your info stays private and the paper is still recycled efficiently.

During the following HHW Collection Events, all residents of RRRASOC member communities are welcome to bring household hazardous waste for an opportunity to safely discard their hazardous items and e-waste. Simple Recycling and paper shredding services will also be available*.

April 26, 2025 👕

RRRASOC MRF - Truck Entrance

20875 Mapleridge Ave., Southfield

9:00am - 2:00pm

May 10, 2025

Oakland Community College

27055 Orchard Lake Rd., Farmington Hills

9:00am - 2:00pm

May 17, 2025 👕

Milford Civic Center

1100 Atlantic St., Milford

Enter from west off of Mont Eagle St.

9:00am - 2:00pm

July 12, 2025 👕

Wixom Dept. of Public Works

2041 Charms Rd., Wixom

9:00am - 2:00pm

October 4, 2025

Novi Dept. of Public Works

26300 Lee BeGole Dr., Novi

9:00am - 2:00pm

October 25, 2025 👕

RRRASOC MRF - Truck Entrance

20875 Mapleridge Ave., Southfield

9:00am - 2:00pm

*The T-shirt icon indicates an HHW Collection Event during which clothing, shoes, accessories, and small household items will be accepted by Simple Recycling.

For more information about HHW events and how to prepare your items, please visit our HHW page.

If you have HHW that you'd like to properly dispose of between collection events, you're in luck! Drop off your HHW without a fee at ERG Environmental Services during the following hours:

Monday - Friday:

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Not sure what to do with stuff?

Visit rrrasoc.org and use the Recycling Directory search bar to type in keywords and get recycling, composting, reuse or disposal instructions.

The searchable, intuitive format of the Recycling Directory provides RRRASOC specific information.

Also Available:

Mobile App

• From your App Store or Google Play, search for "Recycling Authority"

Want more tips, tricks, and updates about recycling? We have a Facebook page where we can reach each other to make recycling easier. You can also reach us via RRRASOC.org and email at education@rrrasoc.org!

RRRASOC - Recycling Authority | 248-208-2270 | rrrasoc.org