John Williams RUS / Shutterstock.com Smoke Detector Illegal in Garbage & Drains E-Waste John Williams RUS / Shutterstock.com Submit a Transportation Move Request to move electronic waste to B79. For items with DOE property tags, dispose through your Property Coordinator. John Williams RUS / Shutterstock.com Batteries Are Hazardous Waste Remove batteries from the smoke detector because they are hazardous waste. Then dispose of the smoke detector separately. Find out how to dispose of batteries. Photoelectric Detectors Are E-Waste Photoelectric detectors will not have a warning label, so dispose of these detectors as e-waste. Did You Know? Safety Advantages of Different Detectors Smoke detectors sense smoke and flame differently, which give them their own advantages. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends that you have one of each type at your home. Ionization smoke detectors are the type that sense a fast-moving, flaming fire more quickly, while photoelectric detectors are more sensitive to slow, smoky fire.