Because used antifreeze may present a risk to human health, animals and the environment, it needs to be disposed of properly or recycled. A best practice is to ship waste antifreeze to a registered recycling or disposal facility.
Recycling is cost-effective because recycled antifreeze is less expensive than virgin antifreeze. Additionally, recycling saves resources. Ethylene glycol – the main ingredient in automotive antifreeze – is produced from natural gas, a non-renewable resource.
Moreover, recycling reduces the costs associated with the handling, storage and disposal of used antifreeze.
OPTIONS
There are three chief methods for recycling waste antifreeze:
- In an on-site recycling unit.
- By a mobile service that visits a shop and recycles waste antifreeze on site.
- Off-site. In this instance, waste antifreeze is transported to a specialized recycling company. Off-site recycling services also can resupply a shop with recycled antifreeze.
METHODS
All waste antifreeze recycling methods involve two steps:
- Removing contaminants either by filtration, distillation, reverse osmosis or ion exchange.
- Restoring critical antifreeze properties with additives.
Additives typically contain chemicals that raise and stabilize pH, inhibit rust and corrosion, reduce water scaling and slow the breakdown of ethylene glycol.
Studies by the American Society for Testing & Material and the Society of Automotive Engineers have shown that recycled antifreeze performs just as well as the new product.
