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How do I dispose of Antifreeze
Catpuss - 13/1/07 at 10:53 AM

OK, so obviously oil goes to the council tip to the reclamation becuase its illegal to dump it down the drains, but what do you do with anti freeze?

There isn't anything at the council tip, but is it legal and safe to pour down a drain? Personally I ain't got a fsking clue and I've got a bucket of the stuff in the garage which I know I'm going to accidentally kick over and spill all over the garage floor

OK, looking at environemental agency info antifreeze must be disposed of by recycling or into a surface water system, so no down the drain.

[Edited on 13/1/07 by Catpuss]


Macbeast - 13/1/07 at 11:03 AM

It might not be a good idea to put it down street drain or any houshold drain that carries rainwater as these are supposed to be free of pollution. I would have thought it would be ok to put it down the sink as it's a lot less harmful than caustic or washing soda.

You could always save it for next New Year's party


martin1973 - 13/1/07 at 11:07 AM

put it in a can and take it to the coucil tip/ ca site. they should despose of it for u.

i work for the company that runs our local ca site.


stevec - 13/1/07 at 11:35 AM

Post it to Craggy Island,
Father Jack will dispose of it.

[Edited on 13/1/07 by stevec]


COREdevelopments - 13/1/07 at 11:40 AM

if you know someoone who works in a garage ask them nicely if they would do the deed for you. as they should have the correct way of disposing it.


NS Dev - 13/1/07 at 11:54 AM

mine goes down the drain


rusty nuts - 13/1/07 at 01:18 PM

It is illegal to dispose of antifreeze down a drain or even pour it onto the ground . Antifreeze in as small amount as a polo mint in an Olympic size swimming pool is enough to contaminate the water . Garages have to pay to dispose of used antifreeze by licenced waste contractors . The fine if you get caught illegally disposing of it makes it more than worthwhile disposing of it legally


coozer - 13/1/07 at 01:30 PM

Environmental consciousness gone mental . If you feel anxious about tipping it down the drain just pour it out on the garden and forget it.

One bucket of antifreeze isn't going to kill the planet, compared to, say, the Toyota Prius. Nice friendly hybrid car that does less miles to the gallon than my 12 year old corsa and the impact just making the thing is horrendous. And, when the batteries need changing (every 3 years) what happens to them??

Just my two penneth worth...


JB - 13/1/07 at 01:43 PM

I tend to chuck all my waste (oil, brake fluid, ATF, anti freeze) in one big container and take it to the council tip and pour it into their waste oil place.

John

(Normally there is not that much anti freeze as when draining a system its difficult to catch it all and a lot gets spilt onto the drive.................)


caber - 13/1/07 at 01:53 PM

Buy some cheap wine, mix it in and have a party . . . i suppose it still ends up down the drain but IIRC the Austrians did this with their dodgy wine to make it sweeter a few years ago!

Caber


I love speed :-P - 13/1/07 at 02:05 PM

http://locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=36824

be very careful if you have any pets near by

Phil


thunderace - 13/1/07 at 02:26 PM

antifreeze was put on the roof of my building for the sea gulls to drink as its sweet they dring it and die fast was told it killed around 50,who ever done it also put it out for cats to drink killed around 5 or 6 the sspca guy told me.


bike_power - 13/1/07 at 02:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JB
I tend to chuck all my waste (oil, brake fluid, ATF, anti freeze) in one big container and take it to the council tip and pour it into their waste oil place.

John


That's what I do, the council will tell you it's only for oil but they don't watch you pour every container in.

I'm no greenie but who wants waste chemicals in their local water supply ? Makes sense to dispose of it where the chemicals will be processed properly away from pets and us.


Catpuss - 13/1/07 at 04:48 PM

Thanks guys. I'll give the council tip a call on Monday.

In the mean time the bucket is all bagged up so that its covered over to stop the animules having a slurp and they are banned from the garage.


bimbleuk - 13/1/07 at 05:17 PM

Personally I use Evans NPG+ as its much less hazardous to the environment or animals. My choice though as its almost as much as the oil I put in.

Its more efficient at transferring heat, the system runs at a lower pressure and basically lasts the life of the engine. Sorry if this sounds like an advert!


Humbug - 13/1/07 at 06:35 PM

I put some in old 2 litre plastic Coke bottles and took it to the local council dump. I went to leave the bottles where the old engine oil goes, and an employee aske me what it was. When I told him, he said they don't recycle it, so just to throw it in the container with the general non-recyclable crap. So I expect it ended up in a landfill somewhere


dern - 14/1/07 at 06:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by coozer
If you feel anxious about tipping it down the drain just pour it out on the garden and forget it.
I accidentally spilled some on our lawn and it took the grass 3 years to grow back.


coozer - 15/1/07 at 09:35 PM

Pour it under the shed or the paths where the weeds grow


martyn_16v - 15/1/07 at 11:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Catpuss
In the mean time the bucket is all bagged up so that its covered over to stop the animules having a slurp and they are banned from the garage.


I always triple check i've sealed up any containers of oil these days because of an 'incident' I had a few years back. Whilst doing one of my first engine swaps in my Golf I had undone the sump plug and left the oil to drain out into a washing up bowl, whilst I got on with something else. I promptly forgot all about the bowl and ended up leaving it under the car overnight. The next day when I found it again I got a funnel out and started pouring the oil into an empty bottle. So there I am, bowl in one hand funnel in the other when I see a pair of feet break the surface of the oil as it drains I basically shat myself, dropped everything and ran up the driveway screaming like a girl The mouse that had been nibbling away at various parts of my boot trim over the last month or so had finally broken cover and found the bowl during the night, fallen in and drowned. Serves the sod right for eating my car I suppose, but I nearly had a coronary


JoelP - 15/1/07 at 11:18 PM

i had that with a bird in a bucket of oil, poor sod drowned. Worse, first i saw was what looked like a paint brush stuck out of the oil, grabbed it between thumb and finger and lifted Dead bird soaked in oil looks very scary! All claw and massive wings.


andyps - 16/1/07 at 01:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
It is illegal to dispose of antifreeze down a drain or even pour it onto the ground .


Does that mean that I was acting illegally yesterday when the car I was driving deposited a lot of water/antifreeze on the ground because the cap had come off?


JoelP - 16/1/07 at 01:51 PM

probably not, as it would be an accident. Seriously, in some places the water gets recycled and used again, you dont want to intentionally add poison to the system.