With spring cleaning in the air, the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department is renewing its efforts to collect “household hazardous waste.” Items like paint, motor oil, batteries, pesticides, cleaning supplies and old electronic devices can not be thrown in the trash and should be taken to a special collection center.

South Coast residents can bring their household hazardous waste to the Community Hazardous Waste Collection Center at UCSB. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Sunday. Most HHW, except electronic devices, is accepted from residents at no charge.

Old electronics — including unwanted CDs, DVDs, and video and cassette tapes — can be disposed of at the South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station, 4430 Calle Real. The facility is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There is no fee for residents.

In the Santa Ynez Valley, meanwhile, the Public Works Department and the city of Solvang are hosting a one-day collection event in Los Olivos from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Santa Ynez Valley Recycling and Transfer Station, 4004 Foxen Canyon Road. All types of HHW will be accepted, free of charge.

The Foxen Canyon facility also accepts electronic waste — as well as unwanted CDs, DVDs, and video and cassette tapes — during normal operating hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Antifreeze, auto batteries, used oil, oil filters and latex paint are regularly collected between 9 a.m. and noon Saturdays.

Click here for more information on Santa Barbara County’s recycling programs.