The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Looking for a home for my used Antifreeze

In the interest of being a responsible citizen I'm looking for a reasonable depository for my used antifreeze. In the past we simply pulled the plug and let it drain out on the ground but I'm sure that tain't the best thing for the fishies or for my well as far as that's concerned. Now that we know better I’d like to take care of it the right way.
The county I live in has a hazardous waste drop off once a year for two hours or till the truck is full and the line is usually two hours long. They are sure making a tremendous effort to keep people from dumping aren’t they!
Luckily I can dump my oil and parts washing kerosene at a local repair shop that uses it for their furnace in the winter.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

In ohio we have a company called safetykleen that goes from place to place and collect oil. they also have the truck that collects antifreeze.look in your yellowpages for a company like that and see where you can dump.

Put a dish out for that dog that keeps barking all night. :p

At the shop(small two man shop) in town we were told(by city officials)to put it down the drain, it would be treated w/other waste(the paint thinner,bleach,cocaine,Tidy bowl etc that is usually dumped daily)-but not down the storm drain.

Usually if any state has environmental laws...are there any that don't?....the law requires any seller,ie;auto parts stores,gas stations,tire and battery sellers,to take back used up lubricants for recycling. Even Super Walmarts do this. Sellers may be allowed to charge a fee though. It's usually around a buck for 5 gallons of used oil, so I imagine antifreeze might be the same.

Used oil I just leave behind Wal-Mart, close to the oil tank. Something happens to it, as it is never there when I go back to put more there. The way the wastewater guys talked, a coupla gallons of diluted ethylene glycol in millions of gallons of wastewater was nothing to worry about. It was all treated, they felt it was OK. Now if it were a bigger shop, we would have to go to a collection.

Ill tell you what happens to your used Antifreeze at Walmart, they go in the back and refill empty bottles to resell...why do you thinks its so cheap? Add alittle water and food coloring and theyre back in business. lol

yes for you i wouldnt hesitate to dump it down the drain ...YOU pay sewage bil every month dont ya ?

I concur, it goes down the sewer drain,
Scott

Don't do it if you have a septic tank, though.

Our DEQ says to put it down the sanitary sewer too.

sewer

Most people with wells for their water would have septic tanks for their waste. I have both, and wouldn't put mine on the ground or in a drain.

Look for a dump or recycle center in the phonebook. Most of them up here take antifreeze and oils for no charge. Someones bound to take it. Our dump has a 10 gallon limit but I showed up with about 35 gallons of old oil once, no one said anything.

I had to go for an hour drive to dump my old tv a few years back. Nobody would take the darn thing. No wonder everyone dumps these out the truck going 50... No they dont make it easy.

Joe,
We used to recycle our old anti-freeze too. The chemicals they use to renew it ended up solidifying in the bottom of the radiators, plugging them up and over heating the engines. We don't do that any more. The city says dump it down the drain, it kills certain bacteria and is easily cleaned from the water,
Scott

I leave it out for all the neighborhood cats.
Keeps em from peein on my wheels............

Oops, that be my dog Gazim! And I think that be the one peeeein on the wheels also Marty!

Sanitary sewer huh, well that seems to be the general consciences. Maybe I’ll sneak a qt. or two into McDonalds when I get into town, dump it down the turlet, ya know. I’m on septic out by me and it worries me enough that I’m draining hundreds of pounds of salt in it from the softener every year, so that's not even in the picture.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

If you consider some of the nasty (censored) people put down their drains.. I mean above and beyond actual (censored) .. have a look at the back of a Bowl Cleaner bottle, or any of the common household cleaners.. i'd think regular ole Antifreeze would be the least of a persons concerns.

You should never put any chemicals in your town's sewer system at the street.Sewage run off from roads is never treated at a waste water plant. It eventually is funnelled to a natural water system like a river or bay.Dumping down your home sink or toilet serviced by your city sewage system may be ok as it will be treated. Putting it into your septic system if you are using well water is a bad idea too.

Denny,check with your local fire department.They will help you !!

Any repair shop that services radiators can take it. Don't dump it in the sewer, the EPA doesn't like that at all.

I've tried putting it out for the feral hogs but their too smart to drink it or not thirsty enough. Hopefully the coons and opossums will go for it.

We used to have a serious mole problem. Somebody recommended a solution and it worked. Soak potatoes in old antifreeze,open up a few of the main runs between the mounds, and bury the potatoes in there. Within days we had ZERO moles! I doubt this is legal or really safe though.

i drain mine into jugs and use it to winterize my rvs and my boat so they dont freeze up

good tip 32 fire !

Bring it to a radiator shop.

I was told that today's antifreeze is much less toxic than the old stuff, and that it breaks down quickly, so it's okay to put down the drain. It's still toxic to pets, though, so don't leave puddles of it around.

I asked a local tir/repair shop what they do with theirs. Down the drain with water to dilute it.

Denny, In WI. any place that sells oil, antifreeze etc. etc. has to take the used stuff back by law, Don't know about you flatlanders but you might ask at the place where you bought the stuff. I have septic and well also and I don't put anything toxic in the toilet. Weeds