FAQ on HHW Program Fee
The annual fee is $9.55 per household (such as a single-family home, apartment or condominium) collected through the property tax roll. There are approximately 371,400 single-family homes and 159,700 units in multi-family buildings in Alameda County.
The fee will generate approximately $5 million per year in funding for household hazardous waste collection services. The fee can be used only for the Alameda County Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal Program.
Revenue from the fee will be used to support the countywide household hazardous waste program, which provides free, safe, legal, environmentally sound collection and disposal services for residential household hazardous waste such as paint, solvents and pesticides. The fee supports continued and expanded services to all residents of Alameda County, including increased hours of operation at the four permanent collection centers, and 12 one-day community drop-off events located around the county.
Waste characterization studies for Alameda County and the state of California as a whole found that residential hazardous waste is about the same percentage of residential refuse regardless of whether it was generated at a single-family or multi-family residential unit. Even vacant residential properties require hazardous waste collection and disposal in connection with property improvements, maintenance or landscaping. Note that residential rental property owners may use the services funded with this fee at no additional charge if they register as small quantity generators (at present, all small quantity generators are required to pay for household hazardous waste services).
In addition to a number of publicly noticed ACWMA board and committee meetings starting in April 2013, a series of community meetings on the proposed fee were held in Livermore, Castro Valley, Berkeley and Fremont in October 2013. ACWMA staff has made presentations before several city councils, and spoken directly with the residential rental property owners associations in Alameda County. All residential property owners in the county were notified by mail of the fee proposal and their opportunity for input.
View the links at right for information on what can be disposed, and drop-off locations and hours.
The Alameda County Waste Management Authority (ACWMA) is a public agency established in 1976 to provide waste management planning and programs in Alameda County. Its 17-member governing board includes elected representatives from the County Board of Supervisors, all 14 cities in the county, and two sanitary districts that serve primarily unincorporated areas. The County of Alameda and the City of Fremont operate the HHW facilities through agreements with ACWMA. The ACWMA has the power to enact this fee pursuant to the joint powers agreement for waste management between its members.
You can call (510) 891-6550. Your inquiry will be responded to as quickly as possible.