How do you dispose of your used coolant?

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Originally Posted By: EricZoom
Originally Posted By: Jakegday
i pull the bottom hose off the radiator and let it run down the driveway into the street


As much as I hate where I live, i would never do that because there are still people that walk their dogs around, and can lick the coolant off the ground.

meh, you have a bigger heart then I
 
Originally Posted By: Jakegday
i pull the bottom hose off the radiator and let it run down the driveway into the street

You could only do that if your location has a combined sewer system, a sewer system where both storm and sanitary wastes go to a sewage treatment plant.

Otherwise you could be fined.
 
Fortunately for me, the county recycle facility here takes used antifreeze, oil, paint, household chemicals, and pretty much anything that's considered hazardous waste. Hope they don't take nuclear [censored]!

the oil pickup guy told me to flush it. He said the [censored] in our bodies is more toxic that antifreeze. and they have to treat the sewage from our bodies and they can get clean water out of it. the used antifreeze is no different.
I however haven't done that because I know a few shops that'll take it for me, and its' not like I have a lot of antifreeze lying around so they don't mind.

the times people left used antifreeze at the side of the building, the oil recycle guy poured it into the oil tank and said it didn't matter as it was a byproduct of oil anyway, and it gets filtered anyway. The guy was really cool about this stuff. he even took my oil one day when someone poured solvent in. solvent is a huge no-no!

glad I don't deal with that anymore!
 
What does antifreeze do when it is poured onto the ground (grass, dirt lot, etc.)? I keep reading "don't do it" but nobody has given an explanation other than animals drinking it or your grass dying. If the ground readily absorbs it, that would eliminate animals from drinking it. So, what exactly does it do to contaminate soil?
 
Not a chance. It biodegrades long before it reaches the water table, unless you pour it straight into a sinkhole that leads to an aquifer.

The only absolute no-no with antifreeze is leaving it where it can puddle and animals can drink it, or pouring it (untreated) into a stream. Down the toilet is actually a very safe thing to do. Human waste has a higher concentration of metals (especially iron) than antifreeze, and has to be biodegraded much longer than it takes for antifreeze to break down.
 
The local farmer's co-op takes used fluids and batteries for free, 24/7, so I bring it there. Not sure what they do with it.
 
Our landfill has a coolant recycling tank, but I must be the only one that uses it. The ill tempered lady at the weight-in station scowls at me when I tell her I only have fluids to recycle and nothing that she can charge me $20 per ton for. Last time she gave me a hard time because I had a 5 gallon bucked half full of oil filters to recycle. Told me that I needed to bring them in one by one in the future.
 
If you have city water, down the toilet is fine...if you have a septic system, DO NOT dispose in toilet.

As has been said, the danger in pouring coolant on the grass is that it is harmfull to living things, both animals and humans.... coolant has a sweet taste to it which animals and young babies love...
 
I can't believe you guys pour coolant down the drain or let it run into the street. Now wonder we have so many cancers in this country. If you worried about the environment and your health as much as you worry about your car we would all be better off.
 
Store it in empty coolant bottles and let it take up more and more of my shop space 'cause I'm too lazy to ever take it to the recycler. Can I spell procrastinator?
 
Originally Posted By: rewote500
I can't believe you guys pour coolant down the drain or let it run into the street. Now wonder we have so many cancers in this country. If you worried about the environment and your health as much as you worry about your car we would all be better off.


Yeah, we all know that all cancers are caused by used coolant, living in fear of chemicals is not healthy either. You are exposed to thousands of chemicals everyday, and you can't avoid it short of living in a cave wearing a bearskin. Didn't you hear them say that ethylene glycol breaks down very rapidly?

Animals are flourishing in the Chernobyl "exclusion" zone even though we all "know" radiation causes cancer.

Many less-industrialized countries have cancer rates as high or higher than the US.

Many things cause cancer, most of all a genetic pre-disposition. If you have a genetic pre-disposition to getting cancer, it doesn't matter what you do, you're getting it. When your doctor consults with you about your wellness, the first thing they ALWAYS ask you about is your family health history. If your family has a history of cancer -- you have a much greater chance of getting it.

Humans have been getting cancers for millenia, modern chemicals haven't just recently created cancer.

Modern chemistry has allowed humans to live much longer and have a much better quality of life than any other time in human history -- don't be so paranoid about chemicals, they do much more good than harm.
 
One nice thing about Dexcool is its inhibitor pack is pretty low toxicity lol. That's not to say G-05's inhibitors are all that toxic but nitrites and borates probably in large doses are somewhat toxic, and Dexcool has none of those.
 
Originally Posted By: ZGRider
Originally Posted By: rewote500
I can't believe you guys pour coolant down the drain or let it run into the street. Now wonder we have so many cancers in this country. If you worried about the environment and your health as much as you worry about your car we would all be better off.


Yeah, we all know that all cancers are caused by used coolant, living in fear of chemicals is not healthy either. You are exposed to thousands of chemicals everyday, and you can't avoid it short of living in a cave wearing a bearskin. Didn't you hear them say that ethylene glycol breaks down very rapidly?

Animals are flourishing in the Chernobyl "exclusion" zone even though we all "know" radiation causes cancer.

Many less-industrialized countries have cancer rates as high or higher than the US.

Many things cause cancer, most of all a genetic pre-disposition. If you have a genetic pre-disposition to getting cancer, it doesn't matter what you do, you're getting it. When your doctor consults with you about your wellness, the first thing they ALWAYS ask you about is your family health history. If your family has a history of cancer -- you have a much greater chance of getting it.

Humans have been getting cancers for millenia, modern chemicals haven't just recently created cancer.

Modern chemistry has allowed humans to live much longer and have a much better quality of life than any other time in human history -- don't be so paranoid about chemicals, they do much more good than harm.


I guess this means you would be willing to drink a gallon of coolant to show all of us it is not a TOXIC substance?
 
If you don't have a local recycle site then I would think dumping it into cat litter and then the trash would work.
 
Originally Posted By: ZGRider
Originally Posted By: rewote500
I can't believe you guys pour coolant down the drain or let it run into the street. Now wonder we have so many cancers in this country. If you worried about the environment and your health as much as you worry about your car we would all be better off.


Yeah, we all know that all cancers are caused by used coolant, living in fear of chemicals is not healthy either. You are exposed to thousands of chemicals everyday, and you can't avoid it short of living in a cave wearing a bearskin. Didn't you hear them say that ethylene glycol breaks down very rapidly?

Animals are flourishing in the Chernobyl "exclusion" zone even though we all "know" radiation causes cancer.

Many less-industrialized countries have cancer rates as high or higher than the US.

Many things cause cancer, most of all a genetic pre-disposition. If you have a genetic pre-disposition to getting cancer, it doesn't matter what you do, you're getting it. When your doctor consults with you about your wellness, the first thing they ALWAYS ask you about is your family health history. If your family has a history of cancer -- you have a much greater chance of getting it.

Humans have been getting cancers for millenia, modern chemicals haven't just recently created cancer.

Modern chemistry has allowed humans to live much longer and have a much better quality of life than any other time in human history -- don't be so paranoid about chemicals, they do much more good than harm.


Do you have a dog ?

Does it defecate next to it's food/water bowl ?
 
Originally Posted By: rewote500
I guess this means you would be willing to drink a gallon of coolant to show all of us it is not a TOXIC substance?

If it's diluted 1000 to 1 (as it would be if placed in a sanitary sewer), I'd drink a few ounces. Anything is toxic as long as the concentration and dose are high enough. Heck, even plain water is toxic if you take a high enough dose of it.

You'd have to hurry to drink it at this dilution if it was actually poured into a sanitary sewer though, as it would be quickly broken down to nothing by microbial action.
 
Originally Posted By: artificialist
If it goes into the soil it could reach the groundwater and contaminate that.
Like motor oil?
 
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