Dumb Question: Antifreeze Disposal? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

markho · #1 10-21-2009, 09:05 PM

What do you guys do with this suff? do shops or autozone take this stuff for free?

tangofox007 · #2 10-21-2009, 09:32 PM

Some sanitary sewer treatment systems can handle antifreeze. An answer should be only a phone call away.

Kelly · #3 10-21-2009, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

Some sanitary sewer treatment systems can handle antifreeze. An answer should be only a phone call away.

Yup. I've worked for a couple shops that just put it down the drain.

charmalu · #4 10-21-2009, 10:24 PM

Check your local dump. Our county dump has a recycling program for about everything. I take my used antifreeze there, they have a tank for it.

Charlie

tankowner · #5 10-21-2009, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelly

Yup. I've worked for a couple shops that just put it down the drain.

Yes, but only put it down the drain if that drain goes to a sanitation facility that is equiped to deal with it since it is a potentially hazardous material. As tangofox said, make a quick phone call to find out.

DO NOT put it down the drain if that drain goes anywhere else (septic system, nearby stream, etc.)

If you live near a larger community, make some calls to see if there is a recycling center in your area that will accept it. You might find some auto stores that will take, but my experience has not been very good there. However, they might be able to point you towards some place that will take it. Invest a little time up front in finding some place that can handle it for you and then you won't have to wory about it in the future.

Check on line too, most states have website that describe how to handle certain waste materials and will give some numbers to call.

I would make putting it down a drain the very last resort and only if your sanitation system is equipped to handle it. If you must, be sure to dilute it with a lot of water.

RML · #6 10-21-2009, 10:30 PM

The guy at the garage where I take my oil told me I can put anything in the used oil tank. He said they separate it all later. Sounded crazy to me but that's what he said he does.

Just make sure it does not end up somewhere where a dog or other animal can lick it up. They are attracted to it and it will poison them, or us for that matter if we ingest it. Ruins your kidneys, I understand.

tobybul · #7 10-21-2009, 10:47 PM

I called our city water dept one time to ask whether antifreeze can be poured into the sanitary drain. And yes it can. To makes sure its the sanitary, I poured into the commode.

Brandon_SLC · #8 10-21-2009, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markho

What do you guys do with this suff? do shops or autozone take this stuff for free?

Thanks for taking the time to ask. It's very toxic for animals.

After living in a city where recycling was available, I had to ask the same question when I moved to Utah many years ago. I asked around and nobody seemed to know. I asked at AZ and a couple other places and they said to dump it down the drain or flush it. I thought they were smoking crack! I had to resort to looking up the local sewer district in the phone book.

I was surprised when they said that information was correct. They wanted to know my cross streets, so they could estimate it's ETA. Evidently they have sensors that let them know if anti-freeze is present, but they can deal with it much more effectively when they know it's coming. They also said to run several gallons of water down the drain afterward, so that it makes it out to the main line. That way it comes all at once, rather than trickling in slowly.

It was a small town, so their system might not be as sophisticated as some. Your town may vary.

a2t · #9 10-21-2009, 11:24 PM

i also called around in atlanta, nobody would take it. water dept said dump it down drain with lots of running water. atlanta is light years behind EPA regulations though so none of it surprises me...

450slcguy · #10 10-21-2009, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markho

What do you guys do with this suff? do shops or autozone take this stuff for free?

I believe Walmart will take it, I know they take used oil.

Jeremy5848 · #11 10-21-2009, 11:47 PM

Our local toxic waste dump facility takes just about anything so long as it's non-radioactive and non-explosive. They specifically take anti-freeze which, as has been said, is nasty stuff.

pawoSD · #12 10-22-2009, 12:02 AM

Down the drain in our basement it goes....and right off to the sewage treatment plant.

rcounts · #13 10-22-2009, 01:17 AM

Even if your local AutoZoo or Schmucks doesn't take antifreeze, if they take oil, the company they give it to will almost certainly recycle antifreeze too. Just ask them at the counter for the name and number of the company that empties their oil recycling tank.

Yes it can be dumped down the drain if the drain goes to a sewer and then to a water treatment plant. HOWEVER, the recyclers can filter it, treat it, and refresh the addatives and make it good as new to be reused. If it isn't too far away or too much trouble to get it to them, that would be better than dumping it down the sewer drain. Even though that does little or no damage to the environment, recycling is even better environmentally.

ladfalat · #14 10-22-2009, 07:18 AM

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is about how nasty and toxic antifreeze is. A Hazardous substance, like methanol. Might as well add ethanol to it, Cheers. Toxicity is an organism and organ specific thing. Ethylene glycol as well as methanol is toxic to higher organisms, through slightly different modes of action. So the previous posters are correct in that it is toxic to vertebrates (dogs, deer, snakes, frogs, fish...). Microbes, on the other hand, love the stuff. An ethylene or propylene glycol to them is like alcohol (two alcohol type hydroxyls make a glycol), that's why sewage treatment plants that have secondary microbial-based clarification can handle it. By the time it gets to the facility, it's diluted. So the recommendation goes: if your community has primary and secondary sewage treatment (95+% do) flush it. You will reduce your carbon footprint if you skip the drive to recycle it. If you are on a septic, of course, you will overwhelm your field or tank beneficial microflora. Even then, a couple of gallons spread over a period of a month of normal flushing should not cause much of a process upset.

oldsinner111 · #15 10-22-2009, 07:52 AM

I use it th kill Roaches,Mice,Bugs,and Rats,I place small dishes out around house ,or in,where pets,cannot get to them.