Properly disposing of coolant?

[Marco Esquandoles]

I recently did a flush on my vehicle, now I've got jugs and jugs of used coolant in my garage. The local shells and jiffy-lubes say they don't take it. The local Waste Recycle center is only open TWO days a month!!! Do you have any suggestions on where I might be able to take this stuff? I'm all out of ideas.

-Marco

 

[Eiron]

The "fine print" on the back of my Prestone jugs said that if your location didn't have any restrictions, it was safe to dispose into a "sanitary sewer system," meaning down the toilet if you're connected to city sewer with waste water treatment facilities. Don't put it into a septic system (it leaches into your soil, & then contaminates the water table), & don't put it into a storm drain (they empty directly into streams w/o treatment).

 

[Marco Esquandoles]

Interesting..

Whatever I flushed out was standard green stuff. I wish I knew more about it.

Our water where I live smells very processed. It smells very chlorine-ish. I'm guessing it's heavily refined... it sucks to drink too.

I'd rather not flush it without knowing more. There ARE waste recycling facilities in town, they're just opened 2 days a month. Ridiculous, no wonder so many people dump it in the lawn.

 

[Chris142]

:RANT ON:

I work at a Radiator shop here in SoCal. Used coolant is nearly impossible even for us to dispose of. Our waste center is only open 4 days a month and they limit the amount of coolant to 2 gallons a visit!

There are companies that will come and get it but only come around every 6 months or so. I called a couple of co's back in Oct to tell them that we had a few 55 gallon drums of used coolant that needs to be picked up, they have yet to show up and I/we have made several follow up calls to get them to come get it.

BTW they charge $1.00 per lb to haul it off!! A 55 gallon drum full weighs about 400lbs.

Meanwhile it is just adding up in a corner of the yard, drum by drum.

:RANT OFF:

 

[Grease is the word]

I have had good luck calling the local county waste department and asking them. They will have a list of garages or other places that take it. Valvoline quick lube places in my town take AF.

 

[phenomic]

I recycle mine myself, use it as weed killer, works great! The one attempt i did make to take it to the autostore, they gave me a hassle so i just took it back home and ended up spilling it in the car.

 

[Ray H]

quote:

---

Originally posted by phenomic:
I recycle mine myself, use it as weed killer, works great!

---

Not cool. Ethylene glycol is highly toxic. Animals and small children love the stuff because it smells and tastes pleasant. You might wanna give weapons grade plutonium or "yellow cake" uranium oxide a try as a weed killer, too.

 

[phenomic]

well, weed killer is highly toxic to animals and little children too so its not like it makes that much a difference. I have no better way of getting rid of it so i might as well use it. Ive only emptied 2 gallons so far and will have some more tomorrow after my water pump change. I just put it between the cracks in the cement, only a little bit and it prevents the aunt hills and weeds from growing. Works great. As long as you use it quick, there shouldnt be any animals/children killed.

 

[GatorJ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by phenomic:
well, weed killer is highly toxic to animals and little children too so its not like it makes that much a difference. I have no better way of getting rid of it so i might as well use it. Ive only emptied 2 gallons so far and will have some more tomorrow after my water pump change. I just put it between the cracks in the cement, only a little bit and it prevents the aunt hills and weeds from growing. Works great. As long as you use it quick, there shouldnt be any animals/children killed.

---

The toxicity to animals is only part of the problem. It contaminates the groundwater. You REALLY need to stop doing this.

 

[tom slick]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GatorJ:

quote:

---

Originally posted by phenomic:
well, weed killer is highly toxic to animals and little children too so its not like it makes that much a difference. I have no better way of getting rid of it so i might as well use it. Ive only emptied 2 gallons so far and will have some more tomorrow after my water pump change. I just put it between the cracks in the cement, only a little bit and it prevents the aunt hills and weeds from growing. Works great. As long as you use it quick, there shouldnt be any animals/children killed.

---

The toxicity to animals is only part of the problem. It contaminates the groundwater. You REALLY need to stop doing this.

---

I was under the impression that glycol "rapidly biodegrades". wouldn't that mean it biodegrades before hitting the ground water?
If it were terribly damaging to the environment we'd have large scale recycling programs like oil. We don't, leaving people to guess how to get rid of it "properly" or not.

 

[Kestas]

Can brake fluid be mixed with coolant for disposal?... both are glycols.

 

[Ray H]

They're both water soluble. But that doesn't mean a mix would be acceptable for recycling.

(By the way, phenomic, weed killer doesn't smell or taste good, so it's of limited danger to kids and pets. As to the biodegradability of ethylene glycol, that's true when exposed to air and in the presence of aerobic bacteria. Once subsurface in the ground, it's persistent as it pools against bedrock or pollutes the aquifer. Are you really that cavalier about what you eat and drink that's contaminated with this stuff? If so, PM me your address - I can send you my entire next drain when I flush my cooling system next year.)

 

[Chris142]

Anti freeze no longer tastes sweet. They have been adding something that makes it very bitter and awfull tasting to prevent animals from drinking it

 

[Stinky Peterson]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris142:
Anti freeze no longer tastes sweet. They have been adding something that makes it very bitter and awfull tasting to prevent animals from drinking it

---

Not all states have laws requiring embittering so a lot of antifreeze still tastes and smells sweet.

Check with your waste water treatment facility to see if they allow antifreeze. Ours will let us dump 50 (or maybe 200?) gallons a day down the drain. Larger quantities they would like for us to bring down so they can add it slowly.

I would not risk contaminating surface or ground water plus it is illegal to use it for any purpose inconsistent with it's labeling.

If you don't want to disposes of it responsibly then put a cup in the toilet each time you take a leak. That is far safer than using it for week killer. It will biodegrade but how fast depends on a lot of factors such as temperature, available oxygen, and having the right microbes present to do the job.

 

[phenomic]

You guys really need to do your research, no offense but my coolant is 50% water so that just filters and becomes pure through the soil. The other 50% is mostly ethelyne glycol is like a sugar and easily breaks down in a few days in the soil. I verified on the cdc's chemical page and they say that too. There is a little bit of other chemicals too which are in small amounts and probably dont cause any trouble.

 

[Stinky Peterson]

quote:

---

Originally posted by phenomic:
You guys really need to do your research, no offense but my coolant is 50% water so that just filters and becomes pure through the soil. The other 50% is mostly ethelyne glycol is like a sugar and easily breaks down in a few days in the soil. I verified on the cdc's chemical page and they say that too. There is a little bit of other chemicals too which are in small amounts and probably dont cause any trouble.

---

Somehow my 6 years of training as a chemist and environmental scientist tell me something a little different. If it's like sugar then why don't you just drink it? Methanol and Ethanol are both alcohols with just one carbon different but methanol will make you blind whereas ethanol will make you drunk. Look up malathion and parathion, they are a couple of other chemicals that are similar except one will kill humans quite easily and the other is relatively harmless. You might want to read up on solubility and biodegradation a little. Glycol and water do not readily separate and they sure won't separate by just dumping them in the ground. True chemicals like glycol can be degraded by putting them on soil but it isn't as simple as just dumping them out on the ground. The nitrates and nitrites commonly found in coolants can cause methemoglobinemia or blue baby syndrome in infants under 6 months old. This happens when they ingest water that contains these chemicals that "probably don't cause trouble".

One last thing, don't drink the glycol, 120 mL or about 4 shot glasses will kill the average person.

Listen to what people are telling you.

Stinky

[ December 17, 2004, 12:42 AM: Message edited by: Stinky Peterson ]

 

[labman]

EG LD50: 20000 mg/kg, PG LD50: 4700 mg/kg. The LD50 is a crude, brutal test giving the dose that kills half the adult rats based on body weight. So ethylene glycol is nasty stuff.

 

[moribundman]

There was a wine scandal in Austria in the late '80s. Some clever wine makers sweetened and stretched their wine with glycol. As far as I rememeber nobody died, but plenty people got sick. The final solution for getting rid of the contaminated wine? Why, of course they used it to de-ice airport runways!

 

[Stinky Peterson]

I checked my Merck index and found the lethal dose for human animals is about 1 mL per every 2 pounds of body weight. There are about 30 mL in a shot glass and about 20 drops in a mL.

Let's see, 40 lb child = 20 mL

Antifreeze doesn't evaporate as easily as water so it tends to stay around longer. That's one of the problems.

Stinky

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

I usually leave it out in buckets and bowls for the local cats and dogs to dispose of it!

Nah,j/k........I take it to my local parts store.