Disposing of old chemicals?

[Ken H.]

So I’m cleaning out the garage and we have a lot of various things like mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, paint thinners, etc. slated to go to the hazardous waste disposal center.

 

So I’m talking at work about the fact that it’s such a PITA to call and give them an inventory of what you want to bring in, get an appointment, etc. (That’s the procedure here at any rate.) And one of the guys says that he usually just pours this kind of thing in his car with a full tank of gas. He drives a 2002ish mid-size Buick something or another. A Century I think, probably has a V6 in it.

 

Being the tree-hugger that I am, my first reaction is OMG, you do WHAT?

 

But then he goes on to say that he thinks that because it becomes diluted so much (a quart or whatever in 15 gallons of gas) it can’t do any real damage to his car, and besides, with today’s pollution control equipment on vehicles, catalytic converters, etc. it may actually be a more environmentally friendly way to dispose of the stuff.

 

So I got to thinking, does he have a point or is he as far off base as my first reaction to the idea?

[bmwscoot]

Ken,

 

I like your reaction....

 

If he wants to pour that crap through his cars fuel pump, injectors, etc...let him be the Beta tester. You don't know what that stuff will do to the parts in the fuel delivery system. If it is such a small amount done one time...maybe no harm, no foul. But it sounds as if this his his way of getting rid of chemicals over the long haul...no good!

 

And no, we don't know what pollutants will spew from his tail pipe, because the car was not meant to burn that stuff.

 

Go through the hassle of disposing of these chemicals the right way, you'll sleep better!

 

And as an added benefit, many of those chemicals brought to recyclers 'round here, get re-used by others looking for the stuff.

 

Just my $.02

[ashleybiker]

That seems strange on several levels.

 

Whenever I have disposed of household chemical products at the Hazmat collection centers these guys take an inventory and immediately sort and place the waste in special containment areas. It has been the same way at the last three locations I have lived (all different states). They hand out info sheets explaining how the waste is handled, where it will be disposed of and who is the contracting firm. It all appears to have an official looking chain of custody.

 

It seems as if the inventory sheets did not match the trucking bill of lading etc. etc. that someone would be held accountable for illegal dumping??

 

I'm not saying it does not happen... just that your scenario looks strangely casual.

[smiller]

And one of the guys says that he usually just pours this kind of thing in his car with a full tank of gas.

I would guess that's not nearly as good a solution as taking it to a proper disposal center... but then again a helluva lot better than dumping it down the drain...

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Most of the solvents you mention probably wouldn't be an issue depending on the dilution level although I probably wouldn't want to dump a mixture in there. One at a time in small quantities? Doubt the car or the cat would even notice. Methanol would be an exception but you are not likely to have any around. Mineral spirits? Close enough to gasoline so as to not matter. MEK? Lacquer thinner, again, small amounts and high dilution rates should be no problem. The exhaust might stink a bit and you certainly might be contributing atmospheric pollutants but probably no worse than actually using some of the stuff in the open air of your garage or driveway. That can of brake cleaner on your shelf contains some pretty nasty stuff all by itself.

[steveknapp]

Ken, I'm not a big fan of playing armchair scientist. I'd dispose of it the "right" way. Or just keep it around until it's used up.

 

FWIW, sounds like your system for re-claiming that stuff is a bit easier than ours.

[russell_bynum]

And one of the guys says that he usually just pours this kind of thing in his car with a full tank of gas.

I would guess that's not nearly as good a solution as taking it to a proper disposal center... but then again a helluva lot better than dumping it down the drain...

 

Humbug.

 

When you pour it into your gas tank, you're mixing a few quarts of chemicals with 15 gallons of fuel.

 

I just pour mine into the storm drain. The storm drain eventually dumps into the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean contains 187,189,915,062,857,142,857 gallons of water.

 

It's a no-brainer.

[SteveB]

OOPs, I think the new house is down stream of Russell.

[DavidEBSmith]

I just pour mine into the storm drain. The storm drain eventually dumps into the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean contains 187,189,915,062,857,142,857 gallons of water.

 

There was a news item the other day about how the water in Chicago has some parts per trillion of DEET in it, and I joked to my wife that it was down near the concentrations of homeopathic medicines, and she (who believes in homeopathy) said that according to homeopathy, that would make it more toxic because homeopathy is based on the concept that the more you dilute a substance, the more powerful it gets.

 

So if the homeopaths are right, by diluting your toxic waste with the Pacific Ocean, you're going to either kill or cure every man, woman and child on earth.

 

By the way, here in Chicago we have a permanent household chemicals and electronics recycling drop-off facility that accepts:

 

* antifreeze

* unused/expired medications

* used motor oil

* old gasoline

* oil-based paints

* paint thinners

* aerosol paints and pesticides

* herbicides

* insecticides

* pesticides

* lawn chemicals

* solvents

* drain cleaners

* cleaning products

* pool chemicals

* hobby chemicals

* mercury

* compact Fluorescent lamp and light bulbs

* computers

* cell phones

 

Too bad KC isn't as Green as Chicago.

[russell_bynum]

So if the homeopaths are right, by diluting your toxic waste with the Pacific Ocean, you're going to either kill or cure every man, woman and child on earth.

 

If I kill everyone, we don't have to worry about Global Warming anymore. And if I cure everyone, then there will be no need for healthcare...much less nationalized healthcare.

 

So...either way, we win!

 

Too bad KC isn't as Green as Chicago.

 

 

The local landfill near us in Orange County had a household hazardous waste disposal site that was similar. It was conveniently open only on Tuesdays during normal business hours.

[smiller]

The storm drain eventually dumps into the Pacific Ocean.

Your storm drain may dump into the Pacific Ocean, but if you don't happen to have an ocean nearby it goes into lakes or rivers.

 

Or Lake Elsinore.

[Ken H.]

By the way, here in Chicago we have a permanent household chemicals and electronics recycling drop-off facility that accepts:

 

Too bad KC isn't as Green as Chicago.

Oh ours accepts all that stuff too. I was just wondering about this guys rather, uh, 'interesting' solution.

 

Although he didn't ever mention actually trying to dispose of CFLs that way.

[rob1100r]

Pour it in his gas tank??? NEVER buy anything, especially something mechanical from HIM! ...bring the stuff to where they take used motor oil from you, they should take care of it..

[Mike O]

Humbug.

 

When you pour it into your gas tank, you're mixing a few quarts of chemicals with 15 gallons of fuel.

 

I just pour mine into the storm drain. The storm drain eventually dumps into the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean contains 187,189,915,062,857,142,857 gallons of water.

 

It's a no-brainer.

Bingo... With the price of gas and all this Global Warming/Eco stuff, I'm not driving any more than I need to. I figure I'm saving gas money, wear and tear on the car (I don't dare transport these hazardous materials on my precious BMW motorcycle). Sorting? Sure I sort 'em. I only have two hands so if I have 6 things to dump at most, I sort them into three loads.

 

Mike O

[steveknapp]

By the way, here in Chicago we have a permanent household chemicals and electronics recycling drop-off facility that accepts:

 

I just looked up lake county, looks like I can do that too..

 

http://www.co.lake.il.us/swalco/events/hcw.asp

 

And we *just* got an appointment based system. The previous "once a year" (next weekend it seems) system was pretty harsh.

[smiller]

I just pour mine into the storm drain. The storm drain eventually dumps into the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean contains 187,189,915,062,857,142,857 gallons of water.

Yeah, and emptying a can of R-12 into the air would result in an ever greater dilution, yet there's some silly law against it. What were they thinking?

[russell_bynum]

I just pour mine into the storm drain. The storm drain eventually dumps into the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean contains 187,189,915,062,857,142,857 gallons of water.

Yeah, and emptying a can of R-12 into the air would result in an ever greater dilution, yet there's some silly law against it. What were they thinking?

 

It's all just scare tactics, I tell ya.

[Ken H.]

It's all just scare tactics, I tell ya.

Yeah, who needs air anyway?

[steveknapp]

Global warming is just measuring the temp of that air. No air, no global warming.

[Gregori]

If dumping toxic chemicals in a lake is good enough for the government, it's good enough for me!

 

[leikam]

Ken, sounds like you have lots of options here: 1) drive to your local recycling center and go through the hassle there, 2) drive to Chicago and use their very progressive facilities, 3) borrow your friend's buick for the afternoon, 4) ship it all to Russell and save the whales, or just 5) leave all that stuff in the garage for another 5 years.