Brake Fluid Disposal

The Critic

The Critic

Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Messages
33,804
Location
CA
What is the correct way to dispose of used brake fluid?

I am aware that many people mix a small amount of it with used oil, but I have been told that brake fluid should really be recycled separately.

Thoughts?
 
O'Reilly doesn't list brake fluid as a liquid they'll recycle and their fine print only says they can't accept anti-freeze. Autozone does specifically say to contact your local hazardous waste disposal entity for brake fluid. They also include ATF with brake fluid. :oops: I thought engine oil, ATF, gear oil, etc were okay to be disposed of together. I take mine (mixed) to O'Reilly and it's okay to them so I'm not worried.
 
I dont think I have ever seen anyplace that says they will take brake fluid. The local recycle place use to take Antifreeze and oil but recently they have put a cap on the volume they will take. I use to store up the stuff in an old 5 gal jerry can, one for each but now I have to go every oil change or I exceed the limit. They had a shed for toxic chemicals like oil paint and pesticides that I did leave brake fluid in but they have stopped accepting any of those things now. I am not sure what municipalities want us to do, people want to do the right thing but they are making it impossible.
 
Info from yourmechanic.com:

  1. Pour brake fluid into a pan of clean kitty litter. Fill a large, flat-bottomed bowl or tray, or a metal pan you’d use for catching car fluids, with about a half-inch of kitty litter. Then, pour the brake fluid over the kitty litter, or, when draining old fluid from the car, have the bowl set up to collect it.
  2. Leave the pan uncovered and let it sit for 3-4 days. Make sure the pan is left somewhere away from pets or children due to toxicity, and far from sources of heat or flame because of flammability. It will be absorbed by the kitty litter and, since it is alcohol-based, it will evaporate over the course of a few days.
  3. Throw out the litter once all the fluid evaporates. After a few days, shake the tray to check for leftover fluid, and let it sit longer if any remains. Once it’s completely dry, pour the litter into a plastic garbage bag, seal the top, and toss it out with the rest of your trash.
 
When I lived in Ca. I just poured it into an oil jug with waste oil in it and took it to AutoZone. As I recall they stated it was legal to pour antifreeze down the toilet, but I refused to do that! That's BS!

Where I live now, if I have extra oil I take to O'Riley's and I use alot for my burn piles every year, something you don't get to do! Antifreeze I take to the dump and they deal with hazardous waste. I can take 5 gallon per day.

When I had a body shop the hazardous waste disposal service would analyze the waste at some point and if it had so much of a % other than paint and thinner waste they would fine me, or sur charge, what ever you wish to call it. The same goes for oil waste, if it had so much of a % of antifreeze or brake fluid or "Other" they would fine, or sur charge me.
 
According to WA State Dept of Ecology, brake fluid recycle - "Manage uncontaminated brake fluid as used oil".

Can anyone explain this in plain English?
 
JayhawkRoy said:
Info from yourmechanic.com:

  1. Pour brake fluid into a pan of clean kitty litter. Fill a large, flat-bottomed bowl or tray, or a metal pan you’d use for catching car fluids, with about a half-inch of kitty litter. Then, pour the brake fluid over the kitty litter, or, when draining old fluid from the car, have the bowl set up to collect it.
  2. Leave the pan uncovered and let it sit for 3-4 days. Make sure the pan is left somewhere away from pets or children due to toxicity, and far from sources of heat or flame because of flammability. It will be absorbed by the kitty litter and, since it is alcohol-based, it will evaporate over the course of a few days.
  3. Throw out the litter once all the fluid evaporates. After a few days, shake the tray to check for leftover fluid, and let it sit longer if any remains. Once it’s completely dry, pour the litter into a plastic garbage bag, seal the top, and toss it out with the rest of your trash.
Click to expand...


That is what we are told to do with waste latex house paint. You can use dirt or what ever absorbs the liquid and helps dissipate the liquid into a solid, then into the dumpster it can go so they say... I don't make the rules up here!
 
5AcresAndAFool said:
I thought burning brake fluid produces cyanide gas....
Click to expand...

Don't breath it in, start your burn pile and watch from inside the house. I think the days of R12 refrigerant while vehicle running getting sucked into the intake while tech's work in bays back in the 80' and early 90's was a real issue before the refrigerant reclamation machines was a real problem. Not sure how much Dot 3 you would have to burn to be an issue?
 
A pint of brake fluid in a tank of diesel probably would be just fine.

I'd not put it in anything new. But old diesel (or even gas) engines would probably burn it just fine.
 
I throw mine in with the used oil at the local recycling tanks. It all gets burned as dirty furnace fuel. There is no “official recycling process” for it here. It’s diluted so far down I couldn’t think anyone cares. Same with PS fluid.
 
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