bk10s
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Planning a drain and fill of my antifreeze. Any thoughts on disposing of the old coolant?
Disposal of Used Coolant
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Any store that sales AntiFreeze\Coolant\Oil is required by law to take used\recycle fluids; same goes for Batteries.
Many public\city\county dumps also have recycle faciltiies were you can take used fluids & batteries.
Don't mix used Coolant with other used fluids, usually okay to mix old Oil\GearLube\ATF\BrakeFluid.
Combination DrainPan\RecycleContainers are handy for this, available at WalMart or any PartsStore.
Or just use old 1Gal Coolant & 5qt Oil Jugs; mark them USED with a sharpie, so you don't get them mixed up.
Dealing with used motor fluids is inherently messy, so keep a funnel + shop towels + absorbant\litter handy.
Many public\city\county dumps also have recycle faciltiies were you can take used fluids & batteries.
Don't mix used Coolant with other used fluids, usually okay to mix old Oil\GearLube\ATF\BrakeFluid.
Combination DrainPan\RecycleContainers are handy for this, available at WalMart or any PartsStore.
Or just use old 1Gal Coolant & 5qt Oil Jugs; mark them USED with a sharpie, so you don't get them mixed up.
Dealing with used motor fluids is inherently messy, so keep a funnel + shop towels + absorbant\litter handy.
coolant is tricky, the auto parts stores around me will take oil but not coolant. The county has an annual hazardous waste collection day, I time my coolant changes for just before that day ;-) and take it as hazardous waste.
Try earth911.com to find recycling for antifreeze near you, call to confirm as the listings are often outdated.
There are a very few places that will take it for recycling. Typically I just drain from the radiator drain petcock, which means the coolant drains out over various dirty bits of undercarriage and gets contaminated with oil, dirt etc. So it can't be recycled unless I start taking much more care of how I drain.
Internet scuttlebutt suggests that it might be OK to pour it down the toilet so it gets processed with the sewage. I can't find any reliable source to confirm this though.
Try earth911.com to find recycling for antifreeze near you, call to confirm as the listings are often outdated.
There are a very few places that will take it for recycling. Typically I just drain from the radiator drain petcock, which means the coolant drains out over various dirty bits of undercarriage and gets contaminated with oil, dirt etc. So it can't be recycled unless I start taking much more care of how I drain.
Internet scuttlebutt suggests that it might be OK to pour it down the toilet so it gets processed with the sewage. I can't find any reliable source to confirm this though.
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There is a recycle place down the street from me where you can take yard debris, construction debris, appliances, cardboard, and household hazardous. Google "around me" is your friend. Or call the city, they will know.
Don't send it down the toilet! That is some forever chemical shit. Get this... some nursing facilities flush old meds down the toilet to dispose of it. That shit makes it back into the water supply.
Don't send it down the toilet! That is some forever chemical shit. Get this... some nursing facilities flush old meds down the toilet to dispose of it. That shit makes it back into the water supply.
bk10s
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What do dealers, service stations, etc. do with it?
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Actually read the laws, They vary. Here in NY the can sell oil and anti and NOT take it if they sell under like 7,000 qts a year.... Anti we have a locak town owned recycling center you can dispose of it at ( up to 3 gallons a day)
I kinda feel horrible but last fall I flushed my newer explorer and I live in the city here, I just waited for it to rain one day and I went outside and opened the radiator drain and came back an hour later to refill it... but there isn't anywhere around that takes it. It's either dilute it that way or throw the jug in the trash.
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Dont do that. EthyleneGlycol is toxic to just about everything, people , dogs, cats, birds, fish, grass, everything. Youve gone to "confession" now so youre forgiven, but dont do it again.
did some more poking around about the toilet option..
a water engineer I know says it's safe as the ethelyne glycol gets digested by the sewage processing in the same way as sewage. BUT it needs about 300x the oxygen to be safely processed. So it puts a huge strain on the wastewater treatment plants.
See,
https://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/sites/enr/files/guidelines/antifreezeguideline.pdf"If antifreeze is poured into a sewage lagoon in sufficient concentrations it may poison the bacteria responsible for sewage treatment."
and
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0043135495002308"Large amounts of de-icing agents consisting mainly of diethylene glycol and propylene glycol are used at many airports during the winter time.
Extensive investigations have proved that waste water containing diethylene glycol may cause severe disturbances in sewage treatment. Only by avoiding shock loads and by maintaining an adapted activated sludge at the sewage treatment plant can ensure that COD and BOD effluent values do not exceed critical limits."
Most big cities don't allow it. Some smaller cities and counties in the Midwest for example do allow it, but they all require written permission from the wastewater engineer (to avoid those "shock loads" I guess).
So hazardous waste treatment it is then..
a water engineer I know says it's safe as the ethelyne glycol gets digested by the sewage processing in the same way as sewage. BUT it needs about 300x the oxygen to be safely processed. So it puts a huge strain on the wastewater treatment plants.
See,
https://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/sites/enr/files/guidelines/antifreezeguideline.pdf"If antifreeze is poured into a sewage lagoon in sufficient concentrations it may poison the bacteria responsible for sewage treatment."
and
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0043135495002308"Large amounts of de-icing agents consisting mainly of diethylene glycol and propylene glycol are used at many airports during the winter time.
Extensive investigations have proved that waste water containing diethylene glycol may cause severe disturbances in sewage treatment. Only by avoiding shock loads and by maintaining an adapted activated sludge at the sewage treatment plant can ensure that COD and BOD effluent values do not exceed critical limits."
Most big cities don't allow it. Some smaller cities and counties in the Midwest for example do allow it, but they all require written permission from the wastewater engineer (to avoid those "shock loads" I guess).
So hazardous waste treatment it is then..
Last edited:
bk10s
Active Member
Called the dealer. They change coolant for $149 and I assume dispose of old antifreeze properly. For peace of mind on disposal, I'm going to have them do it.
