See 28 Unusual Things You Can't Legally Throw Away in Illinois

You have to be careful what you toss in the trash can in Illinois as there are more than two dozen things that can get you busted.

I saw this curious list on the Illinois Environmental Protection website of things you can't throw away legally. Some make sense and others are a little more mysterious.

Oil-based paints
Paint thinners
Herbicides
Insecticides
Pesticides
Old Gasoline
Pool Chemicals
Cleaning Products
Mercury
Household Batteries
Used motor oil
Drain cleaners
Lawn chemicals
Solvents
Antifreeze
Hobby chemicals
Aerosol paints and pesticides
Fluorescent lamp bulbs
Old Outdated Medicines and Pharmaceuticals
Agricultural chemicals
Explosives
Fireworks
Lead Acid Batteries
Controlled Substances
Propane Tanks
Farm machinery oil
Fire extinguishers
Sharps, needles and potentially infectious medical wastes

The good news is that many items on the top half of this list are possible to throw away at state-ordained one day waste pickups. The last dozen or so are not. The general rule of thumb is if you have something that's explosive or flammable, you can't throw it away. If the item has elements that would harm people, animals, the environment and/or all of the above, it also can't be tossed.

You can check out the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency website yourself or talk to your own trash pickup provider and see what it takes to safely dispose of dangerous things you don't want/need anymore.