Solvent Disposal

[Tom Bender]

Here's how I dispose of solvents. Any better ideas?

Latex - I wash brushes in the laundry sink which pumps up to the septic system. Maybe 1 quart of paint per year goes there so I'm not too concerned.

Mineral spirits and alcohol - this goes into a quart can and gets burned a couple times a year with old bank statements etc. The metal paint can is labeled "Waste Solvent"

Burning tip (pour it on before you light the fire or you will be holding a burning can)
And another, (stand back when lighting)
Yet another (a pile of paper will not burn, it has to be fed onto the fire a few sheets at a time then stirred with a shovel)

[Phil Mueller]

Larger quantities of old solvents are taken to our local hazardous waste disposal site. I’m fortunate that it’s only about a 15 minute drive away. Small quantities I pour into a pan of kitty litter or onto a piece of cardboard, let dry, then dispose in the trash.

[Erik Loza]

Larger quantities of old solvents are taken to our local hazardous waste disposal site. I’m fortunate that it’s only about a 15 minute drive away.

Same here. They make a big deal here in Austin about putting as little as possible down the drain due to our aged wastewater treatment infrastructure.

Erik

[mike stenson]

Same here. They make a big deal here in Austin about putting as little as possible down the drain due to our aged wastewater treatment infrastructure.

Erik

Water is a pretty precious resource here in the desert. We take them to hazardous waste collection points.

Also, after having to replace the leaching field 5 days after moving into the new house.. I'm not putting anything questionable into the septic tank until my wallet completely recovers. ;)

[Larry Frank]

I also take to hazardous waste disposal.

[Dave Zellers]

I burn old solvents too. But all used paint thinner is allowed to sit for a month or so to allow the solids to settle out and then the clear thinner is poured off and reused. I have an old aluminum stove pot for burning. It really helps to put an old rag in first and pour the goop over that then after the rag is saturated, light it. It acts as a giant wick.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Some of the oil change places will also take old solvents.

[lowell holmes]

See this thread.
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNSLDybJCKbps1OzcmraVhXQzmlEAg:15 80831567351&q=solvent+adsorbent&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiO7ZXAoLjnAhVQhq0KHTS3CawQ7Al6BAgKEBk&biw=1280&bih=646

[Roger Feeley]

This thread reminded me of an old story from my youth.

I grew up in Topeka, KS. My best friend was the son of the KS state budget director so I got to know a few people high up in government. One of those was a fellow named Roy Freeland, head of the KS Fish and Game Commission. He was an able executive and generally well liked. He was also an expert fisherman. He was one of those guys who would invite 100 people over for a fish fry and catch the fish that morning. Of course he had a couple of advantages. Being the big cheese, limits didn't apply. He also was plugged into his wardens who would tell him where the fish were biting.

I should also mention two more bits of background.
1. Roy didn't always use common sense. I remember once him throwing out the anchor without tying the painter to the boat.
2. This was a time when we all burnt our trash. Roy had a drum of some sort about the height of a 55 gallon drum but skinnier.

It was one of those days. He had gone out in the morning to catch the fish for about 30 people coming over for dinner. He cleaned the fish at his house and had a bucketload of fish heads and guts. So he takes the fish heads and guts out to his incinerator. Looking at the bucket, he knows that they won't burn so he puts a bunch of newspaper in the barrel. he dumps the fish heads and guts into the barrel. He pours a gallon of gasoline over the fish heads and guts. Then he decides he needs more newspaper. That meant another gallon of gasoline.

Well, what Roy had built was a cannon. He touched a match to the air hole at the bottom, the gasoline exploded and launched fish heads and guts far and wide.

[lowell holmes]

See these threads

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=oil+absorbant&catalog=4294729346

https://www.homedepot.com/s/absorbant?NCNI-5

[Frank Pratt]

This thread reminded me of an old story from my youth.

I grew up in Topeka, KS. My best friend was the son of the KS state budget director so I got to know a few people high up in government. One of those was a fellow named Roy Freeland, head of the KS Fish and Game Commission. He was an able executive and generally well liked. He was also an expert fisherman. He was one of those guys who would invite 100 people over for a fish fry and catch the fish that morning. Of course he had a couple of advantages. Being the big cheese, limits didn't apply. He also was plugged into his wardens who would tell him where the fish were biting.

I should also mention two more bits of background.
1. Roy didn't always use common sense. I remember once him throwing out the anchor without tying the painter to the boat.
2. This was a time when we all burnt our trash. Roy had a drum of some sort about the height of a 55 gallon drum but skinnier.

It was one of those days. He had gone out in the morning to catch the fish for about 30 people coming over for dinner. He cleaned the fish at his house and had a bucketload of fish heads and guts. So he takes the fish heads and guts out to his incinerator. Looking at the bucket, he knows that they won't burn so he puts a bunch of newspaper in the barrel. he dumps the fish heads and guts into the barrel. He pours a gallon of gasoline over the fish heads and guts. Then he decides he needs more newspaper. That meant another gallon of gasoline.

Well, what Roy had built was a cannon. He touched a match to the air hole at the bottom, the gasoline exploded and launched fish heads and guts far and wide.

Good story. Reminds me of the video of the rotting, beached whale that the local authorities decided to blow up with dynamite. There were huge chunks of rotten blubber & guts scattered all over the countryside.

[mike stenson]

Good story. Reminds me of the video of the rotting, beached whale that the local authorities decided to blow up with dynamite. There were huge chunks of rotten blubber & guts scattered all over the countryside.

My favorite news quote of all time comes from that.

"The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds.”

[Rod Sheridan]

It’s best to take solvents for recycling, that way they are re-used which is good for the environment and reduces your carbon footprint.

Certainly never pour it on the ground or down the drain. A litre of solvent can contaminate millions of litres of water.....Regards, Rod

P.S. Of course the best thing to do is stop using solvent based material

[Roger Feeley]

It’s best to take solvents for recycling, that way they are re-used which is good for the environment and reduces your carbon footprint.

Certainly never pour it on the ground or down the drain. A litre of solvent can contaminate millions of litres of water.....Regards, Rod

P.S. Of course the best thing to do is stop using solvent based material

I agree with the idea of not using solvent based stuff and I do when possible.

I try to get multiple uses out of my mineral spirits. I have a bottle of clean and a bottle of dirty. The dirty is really pretty effective when cleaning brushes. A lot of the pigments and icky stuff settles to the bottom as sludge leaving relatively clear mineral spirits that I can decant off. I start with the dirty. I pour a small quantity of dirty into a can and work the brush. Pour that into the dirty and repeat a couple of times. Then I finish up with some clean which goes into the dirty. A couple of times a year, I take dirty to the hazardous waste dump. I've only had to buy empty bottles a couple of times. Yeah, yeah, I know that I could wash out detergent bottles but I prefer to have something the size and shape of a solvent bottle. Anyway, we buy our laundry detergent in 2 gallon refills and reuse our one gallon bottle.

[Frank Pratt]

It’s best to take solvents for recycling, that way they are re-used which is good for the environment and reduces your carbon footprint.

Certainly never pour it on the ground or down the drain. A litre of solvent can contaminate millions of litres of water.....Regards, Rod

P.S. Of course the best thing to do is stop using solvent based material

I completely agree. I still do use some solvent based stuff, but I have a couple of containers of solvent in varying stages of reuse. Every 4 or 5 years I have to take a 4 liter jug to the recycle facility.

[William Chain]

Your local college or university chemistry department can also safely recycle or dispose of solvents.

[Bill Jobe]

This thread reminded me of an old story from my youth.

I grew up in Topeka, KS. My best friend was the son of the KS state budget director so I got to know a few people high up in government. One of those was a fellow named Roy Freeland, head of the KS Fish and Game Commission. He was an able executive and generally well liked. He was also an expert fisherman. He was one of those guys who would invite 100 people over for a fish fry and catch the fish that morning. Of course he had a couple of advantages. Being the big cheese, limits didn't apply. He also was plugged into his wardens who would tell him where the fish were biting.

I should also mention two more bits of background.
1. Roy didn't always use common sense. I remember once him throwing out the anchor without tying the painter to the boat.
2. This was a time when we all burnt our trash. Roy had a drum of some sort about the height of a 55 gallon drum but skinnier.

It was one of those days. He had gone out in the morning to catch the fish for about 30 people coming over for dinner. He cleaned the fish at his house and had a bucketload of fish heads and guts. So he takes the fish heads and guts out to his incinerator. Looking at the bucket, he knows that they won't burn so he puts a bunch of newspaper in the barrel. he dumps the fish heads and guts into the barrel. He pours a gallon of gasoline over the fish heads and guts. Then he decides he needs more newspaper. That meant another gallon of gasoline.

Well, what Roy had built was a cannon. He touched a match to the air hole at the bottom, the gasoline exploded and launched fish heads and guts far and wide.

So that's where they came from.

[John Stankus]

Your local college or university chemistry department can also safely recycle or dispose of solvents.

Most likely NOT! At least not taking in stuff from outside the school

Chemistry departments have to pay for hazardous chemical disposal. It gets more expensive if you don’t know what’s in there or a mixture of stuff.
Also the colleges would not want the liability of someone unaffiliated transporting unknown hazardous waste on to campus

John, professor of chemistry