Legal disposal of oil filters

I just got back from taking a load of household waste to the Houston Environmental Service Center on Neches Street. Along with some old gas and some aerosol cans, I had some used oil filters. The guy there told me that they don't take them there. Well, I can live with that – they always think of some reason to not take something. But then he told me that they were just considered trash, and I could just put them in the garbage can at the house. This used to be illegal in Texas. I suspect it still is. I have a call in to 311 to look into it. In the meanwhile, has anyone heard about that law being changed? Is it legit now to toss used oil filters in the trash?