Disposal of Waste Coolant Fluid

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gray rider

gray rider

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I know what I should do regarding disposal of waste coolant and the flushed out fluid. ;) However,....... I am wondering what you guys do regarding this and what methods there might be to make disposal easier/enviro friendly, etc.:)
 
I'm interested as well. Our city doesn't have a "throw out your toxic waste" day anymore due to budget cuts and I've still got a 5 gallon bucket of coolant sitting in the garage from the head gasket job a couple years ago.
 
And if you do a radiator flush, there could be significantly more than a few gallons, (i.e flush until it runs clear).....
 
Most auto parts stores in this area will take it.
 
Well I let my sanitary sewer handle it. But there are coolant recycling centers, some I think some auto parts store might have a drop off for it. You may also want to contact you county/city waste department for other disposal details.
 
Funny, I just picked up some coolant the other day and had asked the guy behind the counter if they take used coolant and he told me no. I inquired if he knew where I could take it and he shrugged his shoulders with a "I don't know". I left thinking "Well, what exactly do you know?".
Geez, those parts stores guys are pretty useless sometimes. No offense if anyone on here works at a parts store, but the guys I come across don't know much about anything except what the computer screen says.
 
mudlover said:
When I lived in Boulder County Co. I called county waste dept and they said flushing down drain is fine. You should ask in your area.
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X2. Your city should allow it down the city sewer system; however I have a septic tank.
 
Here in Austin, TX the city has a hazardous waste drop off that takes just about anything. Fluids, batteries, old paint, etc. Even has a shed of free stuff that people have dropped off, mainly cleaning products or WD 40 type stuff.
 
Ok - Let's say that we have figured out that I should take it to my local "City Hazmat r US".

What would be the preferred method for capturing the x number of gallons that flush out of my radiator system?
 
mikray55 said:
Ok - Let's say that we have figured out that I should take it to my local "City Hazmat r US".

What would be the preferred method for capturing the x number of gallons that flush out of my radiator system?
Click to expand...

My wife has quite a collection of plastic storage bins. I used one of those. It was wide enough to catch most of the messy spillage and deep enough to collect all of it in one shot (per drain/flush). I then emptied it into 5 gallon buckets from there.
 
Here kitty kitty kitty........
 
FWIW I used a galvanized tub (? Lowes) to catch the old coolant:
galvanized tub recovered coolant.webp
 
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FWIW, alot of what you put down the sewer ends up back in the water system. So, if you are able to take it some proper disposal than you should. Not that I am some sort of environmentalist or anything (I DD 2 '80's:rolleyes:)
Garages MUST have a proper way of disposing of it. Thats why when you get an invoice from a bigger/more organized shop it will likely have some sort of environmental charge on it.

Just my .02$

Doug
 
Ok, that's all good info and yes I have always taken used fluids to proper disposal facility.

Now my last question; how many gallons do you think will result from the "flush until runs clear" method? ( I gotta know how big the kiddie pool needs to be)...
 
Modern coolants use propylene glycol which is fairly harmless. I wouldn't hesitate to dump it on the grass. It certainly won't kill it.

Older coolants used to use ethylene glycol which was much more toxic.

Short answer: dump it on the grass, flush it down the toilet, down the sink. Try to avoid putting it in the storm water drains as that water typically goes straight back out to sea/river etc where as indoor plumbing goes through a filtration process.
 
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