Chemical disposal now that the science experiments are done?? AKA don’t want to accidentally gain a super power

[Garga]

We’re all done using our acetic and hydrochloric acids and sodium hydroxide and all the other corrosive chemicals we used in our science kits for biology and chemistry. But I still have 12 little bottles half full of somewhat strong acids and bases—an assortment of different kinds. 

How did you safely dispose of old chemicals when you were done with your science experiments? Is is common knowledge that there’s a way to get rid of these things that I just don’t know about? Or am I looking at a couple of hours of tracking down someone locally who takes these little bottles and properly disposes of them?

And yes, I’ve had the shifty-eyed thought, “Well…what if I mix the acids with the bases and use them to neutralize each other??” but that seems a bit irresponsible since I don’t really know what I’m doing. I don’t want to accidentally become the next super villain. 😄

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Garga

[regentrude]

Hazardous waste collection in your town.

Your environmental services department should have info

Edited January 15, 2023 by regentrude

[Garga]

26 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Hazardous waste collection in your town.

Your environmental services department should have info

Tracking these folks down around here is a pain. Maybe I’ll just track down the folks in the nearest big city (about an hour away) and take it to them. 

[regentrude]

1 minute ago, Garga said:

Tracking these folks down around here is a pain. Maybe I’ll just track down the folks in the nearest big city (about an hour away) and take it to them. 

No website with a phone number? Doesn't your town have regular collections?

[Garga]

18 minutes ago, regentrude said:

No website with a phone number? Doesn't your town have regular collections?

For hazardous wastes? Not that I’m aware of. It’s a bear tracking things down around here. I googled for info in my area for 20 or so minutes, hitting dead end after dead end, before posting this post. That’s why I posted, wondering if maybe everyone else knew something I didn’t know about how to get rid of this stuff.

After you wrote back, I googled for hazardous waste disposal info in the nearest big city and had hits within seconds. I have a friend who lives in that city. Since the collection spot is for residents only, I’ll offer to buy her lunch if she goes with me to the site and is the one to hand over my few bottles of acids and bases. 

Everything around here is just such a pain. Lovely scenery, but not many amenities. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Garga

[mathmarm]

Are there any local middle or highschools around that might appreciate the donation?

[Alice Lamb]

Sodium hydroxide is toilet bowl cleaner, so just use a little at a time in place of your regular one.  Just be careful not to add anything else until you've flushed a couple of times.  Definitely use hazardous waste collection for the rest.  Hazardous waste collection happens 3 or 4 times a year near even my relative's small town (pop~ 5000) so it shouldn't be hard to find. Four or five towns allow folks from the neighboring towns to join their special collection day at a town garage or transfer station.

[cintinative]

if you know another homeschooler, perhaps they would be interested in using them for their science? Or a co-op maybe?

[EKS]

5 hours ago, Garga said:

my few bottles of acids and bases

Acids and bases aren't in themselves considered hazardous.  Exactly what do you have?

[Alice Lamb]

12 hours ago, EKS said:

Acids and bases aren't in themselves considered hazardous.  Exactly what do you have?

I'd be more worried about anything containing heavy metals and some exotic salts.

Also, the old rhyme " Do as you 'oughta', add acid to to water." Well, it rhymes if you say it with a strong Boston accent.😉 So dribble concentrated acids slowly into a large amount of water.  The reaction is exothermic (gives off heat) and can cause boiling and spatter acid if you do it backward.

[Garga]

12 hours ago, EKS said:

Acids and bases aren't in themselves considered hazardous.  Exactly what do you have?

This is what I have and some of what’s on the side of the bottles:

Sodium hydroxide-severe burns to eyes and skin

Cupric sulfate: skin irritation, serious eye irritation. Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects

Sodium hydroxide, severe burns and eye damage

Strontium chloride; severe eye damage

Sudan 3–just says “fire: serious”

Hydrochloic acid- corrosive, poison, severe burns, harmful vapor

Acetic acid- poison, corrosive, severe burns, vapor harmful

sodium chloride- serious eye damage

biuret reaget- corrosive, burns to skin and eyes

Turmeric reagent-fire (serious), 

 

These were the chemicals that I put in a separate box, because the labeling indicated they were somewhat dangerous (burns to skin, eyes) but I also have some other chemicals that aren’t as dangerous-sounding, but I still don’t know what to do with. Like stains for microscope slides and who knows what.

——

For those who suggested donating: I don’t know if I want to give these to anyone else, just because we’ve had them for about 6 years and I’m not sure if they get weird over time. I tried using an old stain for a slide a bit ago, and the stain seemed to have gone bad. When I added it to the slide, it just balled up in a weird way and didn’t mix in with the water like it used to, so some things go bad over time. I was going to donate all of my hardware to someone (haven’t figured out who yet), so I guess I could offer the chemicals to them with the caveat that I don’t know if it’s all still good or if they’ll have enough left in the bottles for their own demonstrations/experiments. 

 

 

[EKS]

40 minutes ago, Alice Lamb said:

Also, the old rhyme " Do as you 'oughta', add acid to to water."

And another rhyme, best said as one is pouring some iffy substance down the drain with the water running full blast: 

Dilution is the solution.

[EKS]

On a more serious note, these you can safely dilute with a large amount of water and pour down the drain:

• Sodium hydroxide-severe burns to eyes and skin (this is essentially Drano)
• Sodium hydroxide, severe burns and eye damage (ditto)
• Hydrochloic acid- corrosive, poison, severe burns, harmful vapor (this is presumably concentrated; once its diluted it's as harmless as vinegar)
• Acetic acid- poison, corrosive, severe burns, vapor harmful (this is just vinegar in a more concentrated form)

And this can be tossed in the garbage:

• sodium chloride- serious eye damage (this is table salt)

The rest of these require more research.  Maybe someone will chime in here:

• Cupric sulfate: skin irritation, serious eye irritation
• Strontium chloride; severe eye damage
• Sudan 3–just says “fire: serious”
• biuret reaget- corrosive, burns to skin and eyes
• Turmeric reagent-fire (serious), 

[Garga]

@EKS Wait! I didn’t catch that the sodium chloride was just salt (which is obvious now!)!! What the heck!?!? LOL!  Serious eye damage!?!  Now, I’m wondering if all these labels on the sides of the bottles aren’t a bit goofy. Though, salt in the eye does hurt like the dickens.

But thank you for answering me seriously, because I don’t want to injure anyone (or the pipes in my house), or hurt animals or people or the environment at wherever they dump the trash.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Garga

[Garga]

And I just realized that the cupric sulfate is the same as copper sulfate that I add to my pipes once a month because our pipes get full of roots and makes our plumbing back up if we don’t treat it. The borough told me to use it, and even provided me with the copper sulfate for a while, but then funding made me have to buy my own. 

Ok—when I look at these one-by-one, I can probably figure out simple ways to dispose of them. The warnings on the side seemed scary, and in a way they ought to have been, because you don’t want students not taking the chemicals seriously and getting burns on their skins or in their eyes or breathing in vapors they shouldn’t breathe. But I think I can figure out how to get rid of these now that you’ve got me going @EKS

Edited January 16, 2023 by Garga

[EKS]

19 minutes ago, Garga said:

But I think I can figure out how to get rid of these now that you’ve got me going

You can google "How to dispose of [whatever]" for help.  Just be sure it's from a reliable source and that it's referring to the compound in whatever form you have (solid or liquid, for example).

[cintinative]

@Garga, I was going to say that the 99.9% copper sulfate I just bought is root killer for drains. Also the 100% sodium hydroxide is "crystal drain cleaner."  

My friend who runs science labs uses baking soda to neutralize leftover Hydrochloric acid. She does this in the bathtub so she has enough volume of water. You can buy a huge bag of baking soda at Costco, GFS, etc. for neutralizing acids.   https://sciencing.com/dispose-hydrochloric-acid-8419934.html

Edited January 16, 2023 by cintinative

[Clemsondana]

Lots of lab labels are over the top (not all, but lots).  It's always strange to see 'lab requirements' that students gear up and wear goggles and gloves and everything that they are working with can be found in a kitchen.  Biuret shouldn't go bad quickly - I know that I go years between bying new bottles for co-op. It also may not be great environmentally - I've never disposed of it since we just use it until it's gone - but I've also worked with it bare handed and never gotten burned.  I'm not saying that I'd soak my hands in it - it's probably not all that good for you, since it binds to proteins - but it's not concentrated acid or anything like that. 

[Dmmetler]

For anything that really can't be disposed of safely at home, you also might want to try calling your nearest college chemistry department. 

 

And as far as the labels go, distilled water gets an MSDS in a college lab, and requests gloves and safety glasses!

http://www.nano.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/MSDS/Gas/Distilled Water Gas.pdf