How do you dispose of used coolant?

The Ohio EPA says to put it down the sanitary sewer...
last time i did a coolant change my self, I took it to my brother's house ( we're on a well/septic, he's on City water/sewer), or flushed down the toilet at work ( also city water/sewer)
 
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Not me but this guy disposes coolant this way. :ROFLMAO:
 
My County has a Household Hazardous Waste facility where you can take used Coolant, Paint Cans, Gasoline, Motor Oil and other household chemicals and drop it off for free. They keep all containers though so you have to plan accordingly.. I take all my Coolant there...
 
I always keep a jug around of the old stuff to use for treating wood. So don't dispose of as much as I use to.
 
Elkins45 said:
I live out in the boonies and there’s no real recycling program available. How do you dispose of your old coolant where you live? Do auto parts stores accept it like they do for used oil?
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Make sure to capture it all and put it in some empty jugs and most auto parts stores will take it back. If they don't, then start calling auto repair shops. You'll find someone eventually.

In Illinois, all kinds of places take used motor oil and coolant for free. They have to. Turns out that the people who write the laws want it to be easy to get rid of this stuff legitimately because it's so very very toxic. If they didn't pass these laws, people would be more inclined to do illegal dumping that kills animals and fouls groundwater.

Don't be that guy. :)
 
Spray it in dump beds when doing snow haul.
Couple places I work for take it. I had around 300 gallons from this past year.
 
k1xv said:
Until you dispose of it, do not leave it around where pets and critters could come and drink some of it. ITS POISONOUS!!!

And it has a sweet taste, so animals could want to try to drink some.
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Nothing sweet about anything I've gotten in my mouth. Almost as bad as a mouthful of diesel.
 
BaronHK said:
In Illinois, all kinds of places take used motor oil and coolant for free. They have to. Turns out that the people who write the laws want it to be easy to get rid of this stuff legitimately because it's so very very toxic. If they didn't pass these laws, people would be more inclined to do illegal dumping that kills animals and fouls groundwater.
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I'm in Illinois and none of the auto parts stores here will touch coolant. The only place I know that accepts it is the county hazardous waste pickup site.

Oil is no problem, although I've had Autozone give me grief about filters before and tell me that they don't take them...despite having a big dumpster looking thing next to the used oil drum that says "used oil filters"
 
dnewton3 said:
We have a county "tox away day" twice a year; they take pretty much anything but explosives or dead bodies. Tires, all manner of old paint and chemicals, TVs, old meds, etc; they take it all.

Just about every county has an environmental management agency; check with them.
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I always wondered what those places did with all of the stuff they collect.
 
BaronHK said:
In Illinois, all kinds of places take used motor oil and coolant for free. They have to. Turns out that the people who write the laws want it to be easy to get rid of this stuff legitimately because it's so very very toxic. If they didn't pass these laws, people would be more inclined to do illegal dumping that kills animals and fouls groundwater.
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For ethylene glycol that's really not true since the biotoxicity in soil is actually quite short. Dumping it into a rainwater drain system is a bad idea as is into a private septic system. But a municipal sewer system is quite capable of digesting glycol.
 
Here in Michigan they advise contacting your municipal wastewater facility and if they allow it, dumping the coolant down the drain. I always thought it was odd, but here it clearly states you can on page 8.
 
Auto parts stores stopped accepting used fluids for whatever reason. Everything has to be taken to a municipal recycling depot now. This is apparently what happens to it:

Used Oil: Re-refined into new lubricating oil and used as a fuel in pulp mills, cement plants and asphalt plants.

Used Antifreeze: Reprocessed to produce new automotive antifreeze.

Oil Filters: Reused for metal products (rebar, nails, wire).

Plastic Oil and Antifreeze Containers: New oil containers, flower pots, pipe, guardrails, patio furniture.
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Pepe Silvia said:
Auto parts stores stopped accepting used fluids for whatever reason. Everything has to be taken to a municipal recycling depot now. This is apparently what happens to it:
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I was surprised last time they took my jugs and poured the oil for me. Usually they're weird about the oil containers and want you to take them with you.
 
ctechbob said:
Coolant made in the last decade + has a bitterant added. Nothing is going to drink it these days. Granted, there is probably some older, non-bittered stuff around, but the chances are good that it is of the new variety.

Don't believe me, get some in your mouth one time.........

Mistake I'll never make again.

Antifreeze Manufacturers Write a Bitter End to a Not-So-Sweet Story - Vetstreet

Dr. Nancy Kay tempers the good news that antifreeze manufacturers have voluntarily added a bittering agent to the highly toxic substance with a reminder that pet owners still need to be vigilant.
www.vetstreet.com www.vetstreet.com
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Yes, I was working in my garage late one night & was getting thirty. Figuring distilled water was good enough for mixing baby formula, I took a good pull on the distilled water bottle and got a few gulps down. Didn't realize that distilled water from the automotive store was differnet than the stuff in the drug store. lol
Horrble taste to get out of your mouth.
 
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