Where do you guys take coolant, engine oil, brake fluid, tranny/diff. fluids, elbow grease, headlamp oil, etc to dispose of them?

Schuck's, for one, recycles engine oil and gear oil. In Spokane, we can take miscellaneous nasty crap to the incinerator and they will "safely" dispose of it by burning it if it's nonrecyclable.

If you have no recycling facility that can receive such fluids, I'd call a service shop for brakes/radiators/etc and ask them about disposal. Many such places are charged fees for their disposal needs so thy may pass such fees onto you if you go through them. good luck!

Oils, I take 'em to the local parts store. As long as their tank ain't full, they'll take it for free.

 

Antifreeze, well, I dump it down the toilet. *most* waste treatment facilities can handle Ethelyne Glycol, however some don't. Call your local waste treatment company up and ask them.

*** EDIT *** this is likely locally or state dependent, check with your local auto parts stores and recycling places and ask what they do and do not accept. in my area of Maryland Advanced Auto Parts takes anything but brake fluid, all mixed together even. doesn't have to be separated.

 

Advanced Auto Parts (and other auto parts stores) have large tanks and recycle used oil for free. Autozone may do the same as well since Advanced Auto parts isn't out west i don't think.

 

They accept anything except brake fluid. mix it, match it, oil, gear oil, ATF, coolant, water, any fluids except brake fluid. something about brake fluid isn't acceptable. i make sure to oblige since it's very convenient to dump everything else in the same tank.

 

i have no idea what to do with my brake fluid.

Cool, thanks.

 

How about just stacking up a bunch of brake fluid outside the dealership shop at night?

Some of the Shuck's around here (Bothell, WA) also take anti-freeze. Depends on local county regs. Ask them.

You can also buy heaters that burn used engine oil (and probably other combustible fluids like tranny fluid) to heat your garage. Pretty nasty fumes (though not really any worse than the trash incinerator). Not really recommended unless you are in a rural area.

The Schucks here take engine oil, but not much else. BUT... they have a pamplet from the the County listing waht fluids can be recycled where. Might be worth checking with your local government to find recycling points.

Oils, I take 'em to the local parts store. As long as their tank ain't full, they'll take it for free.

 

Antifreeze, well, I dump it down the toilet. *most* waste treatment facilities can handle Ethelyne Glycol, however some don't. Call your local waste treatment company up and ask them.

So your saying that it will process it so it dont kill the river or creek it dumps into. Not to mention if there is a leak in the pipe from your house. Instead of putting it right down your toilet, drink it first and let your body process it then pee it out!

Advanced Auto Parts (and other auto parts stores) have large tanks and recycle used oil for free. Autozone may do the same as well since Advanced Auto parts isn't out west i don't think.

 

They accept anything except brake fluid. mix it, match it, oil, gear oil, ATF, coolant, water, any fluids except brake fluid. something about brake fluid isn't acceptable. i make sure to oblige since it's very convenient to dump everything else in the same tank.

 

i have no idea what to do with my brake fluid.

 

advance auto actually has a strict "NO-MIX" policy.. my mom was a manager there for years..

 

if the people that take their oil finds out there is other stuff in it, they pay a hefty fine... but maybe that's just the ones around here?

So your saying that it will process it so it dont kill the river or creek it dumps into. Not to mention if there is a leak in the pipe from your house. Instead of putting it right down your toilet, drink it first and let your body process it then pee it out!

 

I'm only doing what the local county said I could do. All of Golden's sewage hits the treatment plant. The county said the treatment plant is able to process ethelyne glycol and break it down. Don't yell at me, yell at my county.

 

I'm only doing what the local county said I could do. All of Golden's sewage hits the treatment plant. The county said the treatment plant is able to process ethelyne glycol and break it down. Don't yell at me, yell at my county.

Sorry:o but dumping anything like that down the toilet is not a good idea. Sorry if i sounded harsh, but being a plumber and pipe layer i know pipes can leak. Thats strange that your treatment plant said it was ok because stuff like that kills the bacteria that breaks the waste down. Just recently a big resort in the poconos (great wolf) had to much kitchen grease get into there treatment plant and allmost killed one of the best trout streams in the area. Even though its allmost to late we all must .do our part to help heal this planet

hey all.. for the record. i was a veterinary technician for eight years, and i know this to be a fact...

 

 

ethylene glycol (most antifreeze, if not all) tastes sweet, and cats/dogs/other household pets HAVE been known to drink it.... it IS of course, a deadly poison, but TREATMENT IS EASY.... IF administered in time.

 

one word. Booze.

 

if you have any 91% grain alcohol around (ethyl alcohol, NOT rubbing alcohol) or bacardi 151, get that stuff down the puppy's throat. Seriously. it reacts with the ethylene glycol, bonds with it, puppy doesnt even get drunk, but it is safely metabolized out of the system. Call you vet or emergency hospital first if you arent sure, but it is a valid treatment. we used to have an OOOLD bottle of grain spirits at one hospital (illegal for sale in FL since the 70s i think) for just such a need, but it never came up.

 

it is very rare, too, but it occurred to me when he said to drink it yourself :- )

 

i figured it cant hurt anything to put it out there. spread the word.

advance auto actually has a strict "NO-MIX" policy.. but maybe that's just the ones around here?

i go to the same one all the time, i have a business account with them and they're super cool. i've talked to them on more than one occassion about what can and can not be accepted. they said they can take anything but brake fluid.

 

glad you brought this up dude! it makes sense that it's locally dependent. i would doubt they ship all the contents to a central location, that doesn't sound economical. they likely have it processed or recycled locally which would depend on the local equipment, recyclers, laws, etc.

 

good point derrick...now i should go edit that post so noone ruins massive amounts of otherwise perfectly recyclable material....

Here in Sweden, the stores are obligated to take in return used fluids of the same kind as the sell.

 

So if a store or Gas-station sells brake-fluid, the are obligated by law to take in return used brake-fluid, and so on.

 

Makes it easy for oss consumers.

incinerators burn their stuff at MUCH higher temperatures than a heater or any home appliance; this results in a much lower nastiness content in the fumes...

 

 

You can also buy heaters that burn used engine oil (and probably other combustible fluids like tranny fluid) to heat your garage. Pretty nasty fumes (though not really any worse than the trash incinerator). Not really recommended unless you are in a rural area.

incinerators burn their stuff at MUCH higher temperatures than a heater or any home appliance; this results in a much lower nastiness content in the fumes...

One word: Fly ash.

 

(OK, well that is 2 words but what can you expect from a math major? )

 

Biggest problem that I have heard with incinerators is what to do with the fly ash, which is the residual solids that go up the chimney and get caught by the scrubbers/filters. This stuff is concentrated heavy metals and such. Nasty.

 

Ethylene Glycol is really nasty stuff. Few animals survive their encounters with it. Ethanol only works if you get it to them soon enough, and by the time they start showing symptoms it is probably too late. A friend lost a dog due to a tennis ball that went through a puddle... Propylene glycol is much safer to animals, and is available in "Sierra" brand and a couple others. Same stuff used to winterize RV water systems.

 

*edit* - another thing around my area: The recyclers won't accept "antifreeze-contaminated oil". So, no recycling of engine "milkshakes". I have to take this stuff to the local Moderate Hazardous Waste center, along with ATF and antifreeze.

i take all my oil and stuff to a shop and they burn it for heat and it saves them money alot of shops are that way