What to do with waste oil, water & degreaser

[newfhouse]

Bike cleaning. Interesting concept. What’s wrong with a damp cloth on the frame and an oily rag on the chain?

 

[cyberknight]

Aye, not on the level of the infamous 'Mega Flounce' but close.........................I bet he comes back and peeks though.

there was a bit wheres waldo thread but it got locked i believe ? wherever he is best wishes in whatever hes up to

 

[raymondo60]

Bike cleaning. Interesting concept. What’s wrong with a damp cloth on the frame and an oily rag on the chain?

Yep, old school. I use very little water or detergents these days. Cleaning my road bike after every ride except in high summer eliminates the need for gallons of soapy water. I use 'mechanic wipe' things sparingly, but they do go in the black bin, and therefor landfill. If the MTB is really muddy (rare for me tbh) I just wait for it to dry, brush it off and wipe the bike with a wet rag , then buff and polish. I probably spend more time doing it that way, but I'm one of those 'likes cleaning bikes' weirdos. 😉 Our local recycling centre will take all oil and old lubricants etc. Don't know what happens to all that stuff once we dump it, but that's true for a lot of our 'recycled' waste. It's a worldwide problem, and its good that people are talking about it.

 

[Lookrider]

Would your local car garage not let you put it in there waste tank to be collected by the correct recyclers
Sure they would let you do this especially if your a existing car customer via MOT etc

Our local tip do indeed have a waste tank for oils etc

Good luck and hats off to you for taking this small amount of waste seriously

 

[Milkfloat]

How many ml of oil do you use? I figure that the tiny amounts of oil I use have almost zero impact to the environment.

 

[iluvmybike]

Our local car mechnaic garage takes our oil and hydraulic fluid and it goes in their heating system

 

[raymondo60]

How many ml of oil do you use? I figure that the tiny amounts of oil I use have almost zero impact to the environment.

You are right but there's other nasty stuff too. Some detergents, polishes etc, degreases, old tyre sealants,. I'm hoarding loads of old car cleaning/polishing stuff because if I take it to the recycling centre it goes landfill. I know my small amount isn't making a huge difference, but it is a difference, and it helps me deal with a tiny part of the insane world we live in. That's me though!

 

[matticus]

I would suggest minimising the amount of oil you use, cleaning any excess off, and avoid degreaser as much as possible. If you need to degrease components, you can clean them with white spirit, then you can leave the jar of ws to settle out, pour off ws and reuse it.

... but ... but ... doesn't this leave an oily yukky residue in the bottom that you still need to dispose of?
(and is that dirty bottle/jar now dead i.e. you need to start again with a clean one next time?)

 

[silva]

I use newspaper to wipe it off then burn it up like they do in the oilfields

 

[mustang1]

To clean the drivetrain, sometimes I use water based cleaners, and sometimes not (my preference is for the latter as I think it cleans better).

Regardless of what I use, I drain into an empty milkbottle/jar/whatever and tip it into the old oil section at the local tip.

 

[the snail]

... but ... but ... doesn't this leave an oily yukky residue in the bottom that you still need to dispose of?
(and is that dirty bottle/jar now dead i.e. you need to start again with a clean one next time?)

I use multiple bottles - I leave the jar 1 to settle out, then pour into jar 2, and leave jar 1 to dry out. You can't eliminate eliminate waste entirely obviously, so the best way is to avoid using solvents as far as possible. I would wipe components with paper then clean with a bit of white spirit on a cloth rather than washing in a bowl of degreaser. I use water-based paints wherever possible these days.

 

[Lookrider]

WATER BASE PAINTS
Maybe someone can accurately correct me in the paint business procees
The issue I have with water base every paint brush emulsion or gloss etc gets washed out in the sink and all that paint eventually ends up as pollutant in the sea as the filterd in water treatment will not take away the tiny paint molecules
This no doubt contaminates the very same fish we eat

 

[ClichéGuevara]

Our local car mechnaic garage takes our oil and hydraulic fluid and it goes in their heating system

If you're in the UK, I can pretty much guarantee they're breaking the law if they do that.
https://garagewire.co.uk/news/assoc...changes/#:~:text=Current law,an fee of £1,384.

 

[MontyVeda]

WATER BASE PAINTS
Maybe someone can accurately correct me in the paint business procees
The issue I have with water base every paint brush emulsion or gloss etc gets washed out in the sink and all that paint eventually ends up as pollutant in the sea as the filterd in water treatment will not take away the tiny paint molecules
This no doubt contaminates the very same fish we eat

stop eating fish

 

[Chislenko]

WATER BASE PAINTS
Maybe someone can accurately correct me in the paint business procees
The issue I have with water base every paint brush emulsion or gloss etc gets washed out in the sink and all that paint eventually ends up as pollutant in the sea as the filterd in water treatment will not take away the tiny paint molecules
This no doubt contaminates the very same fish we eat

Plus, they are rubbish!! (Water based paints not the fish. 🙂)