# Test tube water: responsible disposal?



## Varmint (Apr 5, 2014)

After you test your water parameters, how do you dispose of the test tube water?


----------



## PlantedTankLover (Aug 28, 2010)

Sink


----------



## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

Me too on the sink


----------



## 691175002 (Apr 28, 2009)

I've seen people bring water samples into the LFS, and after testing they toss it into their display tanks.

I'm not nearly that brave, so it goes down the sink.

I doubt any of the reagents used are a problem since they would undoubtedly come with warnings if they were.


----------



## deeda (Jun 28, 2005)

Dump in the sink and then flush with water.

The reagents do come with warnings and disposal instructions.


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

The ammonia bottle 1 (polyethylene glycol and sodium salicylate), Nitrite (polyethylene glyco) and Nitrate (contains hydrochloric acid) tests should definitely not be put down the sink. Most local areas have hazardous waste collection schemes. Get individual jars/containers for each different test and store contents into it (ensure no brass or copper is on the lid). You can also used empty Seachem bottles for this. Keep in cool place. Dispose of in the HHW collection when required.


----------



## TRENT (Nov 25, 2009)

Just dump it in the sink, let's not over think this.


----------



## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Really? How much polyethylene glycol, sodium salicylate and hydrochloric acid are we talking about? 

These sound nasty, but they are all things we commonly run down our drains anyway in small amounts.

Is there more polyethylene glycol in the test than there is in an average dose of toothpaste and/or shampoo (which commonly contain small amounts of PEG)?

Is there more hydrochloric acid (HCL) than a dose of HCL based drain cleaner? (I find this highly unlikely, drain cleaners based on it contain huge amounts of HCL, concentrated enough to burn your skin quickly and you end up dumping a few cups down the drain)

Is there more salicylate than you end up urinating out (in the form of salicylic acid) after you take a dose of aspirin?


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

TRENT said:


> Just dump it in the sink, let's not over think this.


The question was asked. The correct answer is to get rid of it responsibly. Thousands of people are just lazy and dump in the sink, i understand that, but the accumulative nature of these things is huge.

Bump:


mattinmd said:


> Really? How much polyethylene glycol, sodium salicylate and hydrochloric acid are we talking about?
> 
> These sound nasty, but they are all things we commonly run down our drains anyway in small amounts.
> 
> ...


The items I have listed are specifically noted in the MSDS as not to but down drain or sewer, so make of it what you will.


----------



## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Read the MSDS more closely, and pay attention to the context.

They mention such warnings in terms of 3 situations:

1) wash water from process equipment (ie: washing equipment processing major quantities, as in at the API plant)
2) firefighting (again, industrial context here)
3) "major spills", ie: many gallons of solution.

At no point do they warn about the disposal of amounts normally used in performing a test on 5ml of water.

MSDS's are great, but you've really got to read them in proper context. Most MSDS's are written with industrial-level usage in mind. A 55-gallon drum of test solution containing HCL is a lot different than 5 drops.


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

A MSDS is a safety document and as an environmental scientist in an industrial (both power station and waste water treatment) context I can assure you I understand its context. The MSDS primarily refers to spills from a context of human safety (WHS). Almost all environmental law (which this is relevant), has no threshold for an incident and even dictates that an environmental breach only has the 'potential' to cause harm.

Now we can argue as long as you like on immateriality of 5ml of solution down the drain. Its very similar to the very small amount of cadmium or lithium in batteries that go to landfill. The issue here is the accumulative nature and synergistic outcomes waste water treatment context. 

You also missed this:










The simple fact is that the best and most responsible disposal is correct storage and disposal to HHW facilities. The only justification for not doing so is laziness or contempt for the environment.


----------



## Cardinal's Keeper (May 19, 2012)

Yep, store it all up and watch some "common denominator" accidentally spill/mix a little bleach in. Or any number of other possibilities that this could react badly with.

Darwin Award goes to the cautious idiot.. 

Safe is great, but some people shouldn't be trusted to do the right thing. Rather just the least immediately harmful one.


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

Give me a break. That could be said for ANY chemical. You may have missed it, but I did mention keeping it in different containers....


----------



## Cardinal's Keeper (May 19, 2012)

I did not. 

I am speaking of those who will. And as you request, break granted as I have spoken my mind. Carry on


----------



## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

The perfect thing to do is yes collect test samples in a suitable container preferably one with a child safety cap, make sure you label it with the contents or you could be fined by law, an old excel bottle with the excel label isn't going to cut it here people, make sure they are marked with proper corrosive labeling and keep those inserts as they have the MSDS information you need to have on hand just in case of a potential environmental spill, or little Johnny next door decides it's cool aid and drinks it.

Next lets take our 500ml bottles to the local waste water treatment facility when they are full and turn them over for proper disposal. When the staff looks at you like you lost your mind explain to them EXACTLY what you have, and why your storing it, and why your bringing it to them. Don't forget to tell them just how long it took you to collect that 500ml as well, also don't forget to have a pretty close idea of the amount of caustics/acids that are contained in your container by % so they know just how responsible your being...

GTFOH/GMAFB/LMFOA

Coming from the manufacturing side of chemicals (both caustics and acids) as a manager having to know the EPA compliance regulations and having reported spills that hit the sewer drains and in much greater excess than even the whole bottle of a testing solution contains, only to be told that the threshold was of no concern. 

There is not one single EPA rep here in the states that is going to bat an eyebrow over the very minimal amount of potentially toxic chemicals going into the drain when we check our water quality. The amount is so negligible it's pathetic, I understand the mindset of accumulative effect and being an avid outdoors man myself I have as much respect for the environment as any other person here, but really, some people here can't be serious. The accumulative affect of house hold drain cleaners people use daily isn't an issue and those chemicals are MUCH more potent than our test kits.

Granted the chemicals we use to test our tank water quality are toxic, you certainly don't want to drink them, if you get them on you wash them off with cool tap water. But one would need MUCH more than the bottles we use in an API test kit to create even a blip on the water quality radar, pour it down the sink, flush it with tap water diluting it even further. Not one single waste water treatment operator here in the states would find cause for comment or concern, I'm sure there are a few operators in the hobby that do just that, pour it down the sink without a care or worry in the world


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Another option is to stop using test kits. Sure it's fun to see the params when you set up your tank but you don't need to test every week. I haven't touched mine in 5 years. I wonder where I can dispose of the bottled actually.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


----------



## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

mistergreen said:


> Another option is to stop using test kits. Sure it's fun to see the params when you set up your tank but you don't need to test every week. I haven't touched mine in 5 years. I wonder where I can dispose of the bottled actually.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


Trash.


----------



## klibs (May 1, 2014)

+1 for sink

The mere thought of taking time to dispose of trace amounts of test chemicals is ridiculous. They are so diluted when you rinse them down the sink... People dump much worse crap down their sinks I am sure...

There's even a nuclear reactor in Japan that has been pouring out radioactive water for years now.


----------



## dpod (Sep 16, 2014)

Just a thought, but wouldn't antibiotics or other medicines cause more problems than a little bit of PEG or HCL?


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

Probably, but if you focus on materiality you've missed the point. People will do what they want clearly, but I have decided its better to dispose of them correctly.


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/a-rising-tide-of-contaminants


----------



## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

Okedokey said:


> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/a-rising-tide-of-contaminants





> “Out of the millions of chemical compounds that we know about, thousands have been tested and there are very few that show important health effects,” he said in an interview.


:confused1:


----------



## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

Cumulative damage = a whole lot of people doing a little bit of damage, adding up to a whole lot of damage. 

The question is: Are these chemicals damaging? Can a city sewage treatment plant or backyard septic system neutralize (not just dilute) them after they go down the drain? If yes, then they're not doing damage and we shouldn't worry. If no, then we should take them to a hazardous waste disposal site no matter how small the amount. If the sewage treatments we have can't handle them, imagine how hard they would be to remove once they started building up in the groundwater or soil. We may not be adding much, but the cumulative effect is very real.


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

^ exactly


----------



## lee739 (Oct 12, 2014)

FatherLandDescendant said:


> Next lets take our 500ml bottles to the local waste water treatment facility when they are full and turn them over for proper disposal. When the staff looks at you like you lost your mind explain to them EXACTLY what you have, and why your storing it, and why your bringing it to them. Don't forget to tell them just how long it took you to collect that 500ml as well, also don't forget to have a pretty close idea of the amount of caustics/acids that are contained in your container by % so they know just how responsible your being...
> 
> GTFOH/GMAFB/LMFOA


Where I live, the refuse station would then charge you a pretty hefty fee to dispose of what they would label 'hazardous chemical waste'. Even the most fervent greenie would pour it in the sink after that!


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

lee739 said:


> Where I live, the refuse station would then charge you a pretty hefty fee to dispose of what they would label 'hazardous chemical waste'. Even the most fervent greenie would pour it in the sink after that!


Where do you live. I don't know a single jurisdiction in Australia that charges for HHW.


----------



## lee739 (Oct 12, 2014)

We have additional surcharges in Newcastle for a bunch of stuff now - besides paying by weight of refuse, surcharges for batteries/tyres - you name it. 
I would put money on some sort of disposal fee if I turned up with a bottle of various chemicals....


----------



## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

lee739 said:


> We have additional surcharges in Newcastle for a bunch of stuff now - besides paying by weight of refuse, surcharges for batteries/tyres - you name it.
> I would put money on some sort of disposal fee if I turned up with a bottle of various chemicals....


Nonsene. Its free and available in about a week.

http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/services/waste_and_recycling/drop_offs_and_events


----------



## lee739 (Oct 12, 2014)

Go to the top of the class then.


----------



## Squrl888 (Oct 3, 2014)

This thread is a bit old but I have a question: These chemicals in question. Aren't they pretty reactive or biodegradable? Why can't we just dump it in our backyard or even compost. That would take care of the accumulation in the city's water system, and wouldn't bacteria break down the PEG and salicylate pretty easily? HCL would also quickly react, no? Sorry for any silly assumptions, my chemistry knowledge isn't the best....


----------



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I think the tiny amount we use would get broken down pretty fast, so that it is not an issue. 
However, when a bottle of reagent quits working, I take it to the local hazardous waste collection. Gotta carefully label it, though. 
They put reusable things out for people to take for reuse. I have picked up some test kit reagents there, that were no longer active.


----------

