Don’t Trash Your Batteries
Stop off at a drop off!
Most batteries contain valuable materials like Most batteries hold rare metals like lithium, cobalt and nickel which are precious resources we can’t afford to waste.
Batteries also contain lead, acid, and lithium—fire hazards and toxins. Tossing them in the trash risks pollution in our soil, water, and air.
Stop off at a drop-off!
Don’t
throw me away!
are also accepted at the West Pasco Resource Recovery Facility and the East Pasco Transfer Station. Additional locations listed on page 6 and page 11.
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Student activity
keeps them out of landfills, conserves rare metals, saves energy, and protects our planet for future
Together, recycled 13 tons of household batteries and 60 tons of leadacid batteries in 2025. Keep the momentum going and drop off your batteries today!
The next time your battery runs out, don’t throw it in the trash! Drop your batteries off for proper, safe disposal to prevent pollution and conserve energy and natural resources. Find a battery disposal location near you. Do some research about lithium-ion batteries on the Internet, reading this publication and checking out the Hazardous Waste Management Program in Kings County video: youtube. com/watch?v=D7td95ySam8 as well as the Take C.H.A.R.G.E. of Battery Safety, https://batteryfiresafety.org/#section-1.
Pasco County Residential
Fats, oils and grease (FOG) refers to all cooking oils, including frying oil and meat drippings.
These FOGs can cause problems in home plumbing, the sewage collection system and septic systems. FOGs are one of the leading causes of sanitary sewer overflows, which can cause raw sewage to overflow into homes, yards, streets or parks.
Since 2007, Pasco County has participated in the Cooking Oil Recycling Effort (C.O.R.E.)
(C.O.R.E.)
C.O.R.E. tips
• Never pour grease down the sink.
• Before washing pots and dishes, scrape food waste into the trash.
• Minimize use of your garbage disposal. Small pieces of food can clog pipes.
• Use sink strainers and clean them often.
• Don’t mix the cooking oil with any other liquids or products
• Teach family members to follow your grease-fighting example.
program, a statewide initiative to educate the public on residential cooking oil collection and recycling.
Instead of pouring oil down the drain or tossing it in the trash, allow it to be used for biodiesel or livestock feed by bringing it to one of Pasco County’s four C.O.R.E. drop-off locations.
After cooking, let the oil cool, strain out any food particles, store it in a clean, leak-proof container and prepare it for transport.
C.O.R.E. drop-off locations
Pasco County residents are encouraged to recycle all used cooking oils and fats, including bacon grease. Liquids and semi-solids are accepted at the drop-off locations. Every ounce recycled is one less down the drain!
East Pasco Transfer Station
9526 Handcart Road, Dade City
Pasco County Facilities
7220 Osteen Road, New Port Richey
West Pasco Resource Recovery Facility
14606 Hays Road, Spring Hill
Zephyrhills Maintenance Yard 39421 South Ave., Zephyrhills
Commercial and industrial customers must contact a licensed commercial grease hauler for cooking oil disposal.
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Sharps Exchange Program
The Pasco County Sharps Exchange Program helps residents safely dispose of needles, syringes, tubes, and lancets—at no cost. Through a partnership with six local medical facilities, the program provides convenient locations where residents can exchange full sharps containers for new ones, ensuring safe handling and reducing risks to the community.
When sharps aren’t disposed of properly, they don’t just vanish—they can puncture trash bags, injure sanitation workers, wash into waterways, or even end up on roads, creating real dangers for people and wildlife.
How It Works:
• Pick up a red sharps container at one of the six participating facilities.
• Store it securely, out of reach of children and pets.
• Place used needles intact into the container—never recap or break them.
• When full, seal and return it for a free replacement.
The United States Environmental Protection agency defines the four rules of waste reduction:
1. Reduce by purchasing, consuming, and throwing away less trash. The best way to reduce waste is by source reduction. This includes creation of the product as well as packaging.
2. Reuse by repairing, donating or selling unneeded or unwanted items. Reuse is a great option because items do not have to be reprocessed before they can be used again.
3. Recycle, which consists of a series of activities that includes collecting recyclable materials that would otherwise be considered waste. Sorting and processing recyclables into raw materials and manufacturing the raw materials into new products.
4. Buy recycled items that are made of recycled materials.
Now that you have learned these four rules, it is important to encourage others to follow them as well. Students, adults and businesses can be part of waste reduction to protect Earth and the environment. Do some research on waste reduction using this publication, the Internet and the Tampa Bay Times. Compile the information you find and write an informative newspaper article about waste reduction. Use the news articles in the Tampa Bay Times as models for your article. Be sure to focus on the who, what, why, where and how aspects of waste reduction. Add some photographs to your article as shown in the Times. Share what you have learned with your class.
Florida Standards: ELA.412. EE.1.1; ELA.412.EE.4.1; ELA.412. EE.5.1; ELA.412. EE.6.1; ELA.412.F.2.1; ELA.412.C.1.3; ELA.412.C.1.4; ELA.412.C.1.5; ELA.412.C.2.1; ELA.412.C.3.1; ELA.412.C.4.1; ELA.412.C.5.1; ELA.412.C.1.5; ELA.412.R.2.2; ELA.412.R.2.3; ELA.412.V.1.1; SC.912.L.17.14
Do’s and Don’ts:
✔ Do use approved containers or a sturdy plastic bottle if necessary.
✔ ✅Do keep containers sealed and stored safely.
✘ Don’t throw sharps in household trash or recycling.
✘ Don’t flush needles down toilets or drains.
For additional information, contact Pasco County Environmental Compliance at 727-847-2411, ext. 2046.
Sharps are not accepted at Pasco County Health Department locations or Household Hazardous Waste Centers.
Sharps Exchange Program locations
Hours are subject to change, call to verify:
Advent Health Zephyrhills
Outpatient Info Desk
Hours 6:00 am to 4:30 M-F
7050 Gall Boulevard
Zephyrhills, FL 33541
Trinity Medical Center
Emergency Room 24 Hours 9330 State Road 54, Trinity, FL 34654
Advent Health Dade City
Main Entrance Info Desk
Hours 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
13100 Fort King Road Dade City, FL 33525
Morton Plant North Bay
Medical Arts Building / Outreach Laboratory, Suite 100A
Hours 5:00 am to 5:30 pm M-F
6600 Madison Street
New Port Richey, FL 34652
Suncoast Eye Center
Surgery Center-Back of Building
Hours 8:00 am to 5:00 pm M-F
14003 Lakeshore Boulevard
Hudson, FL 34667
Regional Medical Center
Bayonet Point
Emergency Room
24 Hours
14100 Fivay Road
Hudson, FL 34667
Protect your family, your pets and the Earth: Dispose
of unwanted, unused or expired medication properly
Pasco County medication take-back locations
Pasco County Sheriff’s Office West Operations Center
7432 Little Road, New Port Richey Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
New Port Richey Police Department
6739 Adams St., New Port Richey Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Pasco County Sheriff’s Office District 3 Office
11530 Trinity Blvd., Trinity Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m-4:30 p.m.
Pasco County Sheriff’s Office East Operations Center
36409 SR 52, Dade City Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Dade City Police Department
38030 Meridian Ave., Dade City 24/7
In addition to the locations above, some retail pharmacies offer medication take-back collection. Contact your local store or visit dea.gov/takebackday to find a location near you.
Unwanted or expired medication should never be flushed down the toilet or poured down the sink.
In cities and towns where residences are connected to wastewater treatment plants, prescription and over-the-counter drugs poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet can pass through the treatment system and enter rivers and lakes. They may flow downstream to serve as sources for community drinking water supplies. Water
treatment plants are generally not equipped to routinely remove medicines.
In homes that use septic tanks, prescription and over-the-counter drugs poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet can leach into the ground and seep into groundwater. Eventually, these drugs end up in our waterways, where they can negatively impact aquatic wildlife and, potentially, human health and life.
How to properly dispose of medications
• DON’T give medications to another person.
• DON’T flush medications down the toilet or pour them down the drain.
• DON’T throw away medications without disguising them from humans and animals.
• DO visit a participating take-back location or collection center for proper disposal. Pasco
County law enforcement agencies offer five take-back locations across the county. Many retail pharmacies also offer drug-take back collection via drop-off boxes inside.
• DO participate in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day (takebackday.dea.gov).
• DO follow the guidelines below if you must dispose of medications in the trash.
Put medications in the trash the right way
If none of the disposal options above are available to you, follow these steps to safely dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medications. Never put medications in the trash without disguising them.
1. Keep medicine in the original container so it can be identified in case of accidental ingestion.
2. Use a marker or razor blade to remove your personal information and prescription number from the label.
3. Add water or soda to pills to start dissolving them. If the drug is a liquid, add dirt or cat litter to help discourage misuse or unintentional use of the medication if it’s found and opened.
4. Secure the lid tightly and seal it with duct tape.
5. Place medicine container(s) in a non-see-through container such as a coffee can or empty laundry bottle.
6. Tape that container closed and place it in the trash.
About the Recycling and Education Division
About NIE
The Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education program (NIE) is a cooperative effort between schools and the Times Publishing Co. to encourage the use of newspapers in print and electronic form as educational resources — a “living textbook.”
The Recycling and Education Division is committed to reducing the waste stream through recycling and reuse, encouraging environmental stewardship, and providing information and presentations to educate citizens about recycling and the benefits of waste reduction.
Pasco Recycling is a frequent presence at community events, from neighborhood gatherings to large festivals, holiday jamborees and farmers’ markets, educating residents about recycling and waste reduction.
For more information about recycling in Pasco County or to invite Pasco Recycling to your event, call 727-847-8123 or email recycling@MyPasco.net.
Credits
Designer:
Matthew Southard, Times staff Cover photo: Shutterstock
Written by:
Rachelle G. Dobbs, Pasco County Utilities recycling manager; Jonathan Toplak, Pasco County Environmental Compliance supervisor; John Fey, Keep Pasco Beautiful coordinator; Lottie Kelley, Reworld administrative assistant; Jodi Pushkin, Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education manager
©Tampa Bay Times 2026
Florida Standards
NIE serves educators, students and families by providing schools with class sets of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tampa Bay Times plus awardwinning original educational publications, teacher guides, lesson plans, educator workshops and many more resources — all at no cost to schools, teachers or families.
In 2024-2025, NIE provided more than 10 million digital newspaper licenses and nearly 200,000 print newspapers to Tampa Bay classrooms.
For more information about NIE, visit tampabay.com/nie, call 727-893-8138 or email ordernie@tampabay.com. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/TBTNIE.
This publication and its activities incorporate the following Florida Standards for elementary, middle and high school students.
Florida Standards: HE.312.CH.1.1; SS.K.CG.1.1; SS.7.CG.3.10; SP.312.US.9.2a; ELA.K12.EE.1.1; ELA.K12.EE.2.1; ELA.K12.EE.3.1; ELA.K12.EE.4.1; ELA.K12.EE.5.1; ELA.K12.EE.6.1; ELA.312.C.1.2; ELA.312.C.1.3; ELA.312.C.1.4; ELA.312.C.1.5; ELA.312.C.2.1; ELA.312.C.3.1; ELA.312.C.4.1; ELA.312.C.5.1; ELA.312.F.1.3; ELA.312.F.1.4; ELA.312.F.2.1; ELA.312.F.2.2; ELA.312.F.2.4; ELA.312.R.2.2; ELA.312.R.2.3; ELA.312.R.2.4; ELA.312.V.1.1; ELA.312.V.1.2; ELA.312.V.1.3
