Hazerdous waste includes paint, garden chemicals, cleaning supplies, petroleum products and many other things that could damage the environment if improperly disposed of. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Household Hazerdous Waste task Force maintains a nice site with information on proper disposal of these materials. It also has information on coolection days in the region. Another resource with some information on hazerdous waste is the Pittsburgh Directory.

Compact flourescent bulbs contain small amounts of mercury and should not be added to regular trash. The Home Depot will recycle CFL bulbs.

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) can help you recycle your portable rechargeable batteries. These batteries can be dropped off at both Home Depot and Radio Shack.

For regular batteries, there appears to be no recycling program and it is recomended that you simply dispose of them in your normal trash.

For appliances, the Appliance Warehouse is a good way to go.

For computers and electronics, eLoopllc provides resources for disposing of these items. In Pittsburgh, Construction Junction works with eLoopllc to dispose of these items. Construction junction is also a great place to get rid of paper products such as phone books, newspaper and cardboard and well as unwanted building material. To dispose of old bicycles, -Bicycles FreeRidePGH provides resources.