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Old Radiator fluid

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I have searched, but no luck. The most echo-friendly I have been able to do is to spread it on the drive to evaporate. I'll be interested to hear if anyone has round a company that will re-cycle it...

John
 
I guess we are lucky, we get curbside recycling for stuff like this (old oil, old antifreeze, florescent tubes, etc).

We can also drop it off at the transfer station (can't go directly to the "dump" anymore).

Maybe worth checking with whoever deals with your trash/recycling?
 
Our county landfills accept antifreeze as county Household Hazardous Waste facilities, up to 15 gallons a visit. It is then shipped to be recycled.
 
It can/may be illegal to dump where you live.

Check with your city/town. We have a program similar to what Elrey mentions. All my old brake fluid & coolant goes there.

Other options are checking with local auto shops/dealerships/FLAPs. Some of them may accept it from you.
 
I believe your local FAP has to take it back once you purchase a new gallon.
 
GBRandy said:
My wife gets mad when I flush it down the toilet (I kid... I kid....)
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i just leave it out in a shallow pan in the backyard, the neighborhood animals love it's taste



(I kid...I kid...)
 
KSIS said:
I believe your local FAP has to take it back once you purchase a new gallon.
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I think that's a state/local law. TX is running behind much of the country...They won't take it here.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]TX is running behind much of the country...They won't take it here.[/QUOTE]

But you have no stray cats to contend with either, do you?

I kid, I kid, I kid.....
 
Brosky said:
But you have no stray cats to contend with either, do you?
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Kidding aside, has anyone ever actually seen an animal attracted to the stuff? Both my dog and the neighbor's cats don't seem to have any interest whatsoever in used coolant. And it tastes really nasty to me.

Ethylene glycol actually bio-degrades quite rapidly; the main way it harms the environment is by using up the available oxygen in open water.
 
GBRandy said:
Ar the risk of getting a real answer.... Have you ever tasted cat or dog food?
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Well, let's just say that I know it tastes a lot better than used coolant... :smile:
 
TR3driver said:
Kidding aside, has anyone ever actually seen an animal attracted to the stuff?
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i was always under the assumption that animals were attracted to it because it tasted sweet to them. somebody told me sometime or another never to leave it a drainpan for that reason...

never wanted to taste it myself, but having driven a few cars with leaking heater cores, doesn't the stuff have a somewhat "sweet" aroma? (gives me a headache just thinking about it)
 
booley said:
never wanted to taste it myself, but having driven a few cars with leaking heater cores, doesn't the stuff have a somewhat "sweet" aroma? (gives me a headache just thinking about it)
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I had some of the "yellow" stuff splash me in the face, and some got on my lips. Tasted pretty bitter to me. Perhaps the "green" stuff is different?

Anyway, I recalled that alcohol somehow was the antidote, so had a glass of wine :smile:

-Darrell
 
Don't leave it out for animals to drink. It is poisonous to them. It will kill a dog fast!

Many localities have hazardous waste pick-up days when you can take antifreeze, paint, etc., etc. for proper disposal.

You can also check in the Internet for locations in your vicinity that take old antifreeze. Sometime Farmers Coops take it.

But.... not for animals.
 
BTW, I looked up Ethylene glycol poisoning on Wikipedia.

Ethanol does indeed block you from metabolizing antifreeze, and it is the metabolites that are poisonous. But I think you need some other process to actually remove it from your system. Or keep up your ethanol intake :smile:

Many antifreezes have a bittering agent (Denatonium benzoate) added.
 
booley said:
never wanted to taste it myself,
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Me neither! But I have been both sprayed in the face and had it drip into my mouth while working under the car.

I believe an animal might drink it, if they were very thirsty. But the wife accidentally let the family dog into the garage once while I had a pan of it sitting on the floor (was in the middle of changing a head gasket, planning to reuse the coolant). I was all prepared to yell at her (the dog, not the wife) but the dog looked at the coolant, got close enough to smell, then turned and looked somewhere else. Then she came over for a pat on the head and went back into the house.
 
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