8 Things Ohio Residents Can’t Legally Toss in the Trash (and Where They Go Instead)

Trash day is easy, until you’re holding something that doesn’t belong in the bin.

In Ohio, plenty of everyday household leftovers have their own rules, and a few may surprise you.

Here’s what has to skip the curb, and where it can go instead.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Disposal rules and drop-off programs are subject to change, so confirm current requirements with your county’s solid waste management district.

1. Car, Truck and Marine Batteries

Ohio law bars anyone from dropping a used car, truck, or marine battery into ordinary trash.

The Environmental Protection Agency says lead-acid batteries are the most recycled product in the country, with about 99% of them recycled each year.

The store that sells you the replacement has to take your old battery back, and the law even requires a sign posted about it.

It also lets you hand a used battery to a wholesaler, an automotive repair business, or a household hazardous waste collection site or event.

2. Fridges, Freezers and Window ACs

Federal law makes it illegal to vent the refrigerant out of a fridge, freezer, or window air conditioner once you’re ready to get rid of it.

That federal rule covers individuals in the driveway, not just repair shops.

That’s also why solid waste districts such as Franklin County’s tell residents that a licensed technician has to remove the refrigerant from these appliances.

Best Buy, for one, will haul away and recycle one old major appliance for a flat fee when it delivers your replacement.

Cuyahoga County’s recycling program says many scrap metal yards can remove the refrigerant before they accept an appliance, though some charge a small fee.

3. Whole and Shredded Tires

Tires, whole or shredded, are barred from Ohio landfills apart from a few narrow exceptions.

Ohio EPA’s scrap tire cleanup projects removed roughly 140,000 tire equivalents in fiscal year 2025 alone.

Ohio’s landfill rule names whole and shredded scrap tires as banned, and its exceptions cover material from licensed scrap tire recovery facilities, not tires from your garage.

Ohio EPA is also partnering with local governments on scrap tire collection days that run from April 2026 through June 2027, so check whether one is coming to your county.

Your county’s solid waste management district can point you to other places that take old tires.

4. Used Motor Oil

Ohio’s landfill rule bars bulk liquids, and Ohio EPA’s used oil guidance says not to put liquid used oil in the trash dumpster because solid waste landfills cannot take liquids.

Used oil from one oil change can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water, which the EPA calls a year’s supply for 50 people.

Don’t throw used oil on the ground, down the sewer, or down a floor drain.

Take a sealed container of it to a used-oil collection center instead.

The partial list of registered used oil collection centers includes AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, Valvoline Instant Oil Change, and Jiffy Lube locations that take used oil from do-it-yourselfers.

5. Liquid Paint and Solvents

Ohio EPA's household hazardous waste guide says landfills generally cannot accept liquid wastes, which is why liquid paint and solvents belong at a collection site instead of your trash can.

Dry it out completely, though, and the calculus flips.

Mix leftover latex paint with a paint hardener from a hardware store.

Once it solidifies completely, the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio says it may go out with your regular trash.

Anything still liquid belongs at a household hazardous waste collection site, and the same authority offers free residential collection events.

6. Gasoline, Kerosene and Home Heating Oil

Landfills in Ohio won't accept bulk liquid waste, according to Ohio EPA's household hazardous waste guide.

So you shouldn't throw out containers of gasoline, kerosene, diesel oil, or home heating oil.

Don't pour any of them down the drain or use them to kill weeds.

Keep leftover gasoline in a container approved for gasoline storage, and keep it out of your house and away from anything that could ignite it.

Take leftover fuel to a local household hazardous waste collection site instead.

7. Leaves, Grass Clippings and Brush

Ohio's landfill rule bans source-separated yard waste, which the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio says includes leaves, grass clippings, weeds, brush, and twigs.

That's true down to the last twig.

In Franklin County, most local communities collect yard waste at the curb, and the authority partners with compost facilities that take it for free.

A home composting pile works too, and it never has to leave your yard at all.

8. Asbestos From Home Projects

Old vinyl floor tiles, pipe wrap, and textured ceiling material from a renovation project can contain asbestos, according to the EPA.

Ohio's landfill rule bans asbestos-containing waste covered by the federal asbestos rules unless a landfill has the necessary permits.

Regulated asbestos-containing material can go only to a landfill whose air permit allows it.

If you hire a contractor to disturb more than 50 square feet or 50 linear feet of it, the job falls under Ohio EPA's asbestos notification rules.

If you do the work yourself on your own single-family home, that notification doesn't apply.