Q&A Forums

Barrel Disposal Post New Topic | Post Reply

Author Comments
Harry S
Posted: Sep 16, 2008 05:23 PM
Barrel Disposal
What's the best way LEGALLY to dispose of barrels that have some product in them? I've accumulated a number of these and don't want to just dig a hole somewhere and bury them. What's everybody else do?
Lane Hogstad
Posted: Sep 16, 2008 06:11 PM
Contact your local scrap yard and they will tell you how clean they need to be.
Linerman
Posted: Sep 16, 2008 06:51 PM
As long as they're DRIP DRY, a barrel recycling facility will take them. I've always just took them down to the local scrap yard.
Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Sep 25, 2008 08:35 PM
Crush `em.
Scrap `em.
SPFer
Posted: Sep 29, 2008 06:37 AM
What do you do with the chemical in order to get them drip dry?
Harry S
Posted: Sep 29, 2008 09:47 AM
That's all well & good "IF" there's no chemical in them....unfortunately this isn't the case.If I'm not right there when the barrels get switched then I'm stuck with chemicals in barrels. I've got a number of them sitting in the shop yard and really don't know what to do with them. I threaten the guys on the rig and haven't gotten any more but what I do have I'd like to dispose of. I'm open to any ideas as long as they're legal!
Reggie Titmus
Posted: Sep 29, 2008 01:10 PM
First thing to do is start consolidating material (empty what left over there is into new barrels and spray it out) If you have resin and iso you can mix chemical in buckets and dispose of material in landfill if solid.then dispose of empty barrels. you can also call chemical disposal company and they will pick up iso or resin barrels with material and dispose of them (was about $500 per barrel no matter what amount is left in barrel last time and only time I did that.) Barrel funnels can be purchased at safety supply house to ease consolidation efforts.
Hope this helps
Linerman
Posted: Sep 29, 2008 08:04 PM
$500 per barrel? no way. That's just crazy I've never heard of it being that high. Are you talking about IF there is product still left or regardless. The disposal places I've talked to it was a few hundred for all of them, but you had to have a minimum of 50 barrels for them to pick up.
Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Sep 30, 2008 07:36 AM
Empty em
crush em
scrap em



have fun,

og
Reggie Titmus
Posted: Sep 30, 2008 08:24 AM
spraypro
Only if product is in them and you have to get rid of them. Basically last resort to get rid of barrels WITH material in them. They take material and barrel.
Olger do you deal with plastic barrels and what do you do with them?
Harry S
Posted: Sep 30, 2008 08:54 AM
Right Og.........haven't had this much fun since my garage burned down. God how I love this business!
Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Oct 15, 2008 10:10 PM
Plastic barrels are getting more scarce. I usually sell them to people for trash barrels (Iso drums). We don't get many of them.

Or throw them on the burn pile on a foggy night (got to offset algore's carbon credits).
Posted: Oct 15, 2008 10:27 PM
My dump takes the metal ones. They crush them with the loader and toss em in the scrap metal pile. I actually think they enjoy it. They always argue over who gets to crush em when I show up with em!

Tim
Harry S
Posted: Oct 16, 2008 10:01 AM
Tim....where the hell is your dumpsite? Might be worth the drive...just load up the lowboy, strap'im on and go.
Posted: Oct 17, 2008 05:19 AM
call the local scrap yards,,
with the price of metal they will take them....
drip dry...with open bung is how my yard wants em
Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Oct 19, 2008 08:53 PM
We have a drum crusher http://www.vestilmfg.com/products/dhequip/drum_crusher.htm

fun !!
JohnPeters
Posted: Oct 21, 2008 09:19 PM
GUYS!

Lets be forward thinkers here. We're in the green industry right? Try and think of a way to convert those empty 55 gallon drums into something that a green minded individual might want or need.

How about a gray water collector? With a small modification you too can sell those empty drums to your green friendly SPF customers. Or you could offer them as a complimentary gift for going with foam.

C'mon guys. Lets think out side of the drum (box).
Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Oct 21, 2008 09:29 PM
It's more fun to crush em. Possible danger...it can be addicting.

As to the greens, we could paint the drums bark brown and they could use em for hugging practice. Practice makes perfect.


Keep the trigger pulled,


oG
Posted: Oct 21, 2008 10:10 PM
We pour what we can into another batch. We then stand them upside down to drain.

On the B side, we rinse them and sell them as deer feeders. For plastic drums we cut them in half, cut hand holds and sell them as gut buckets to hunters and storage containers to industrial plants.

On the A side, we rinse, drain, cut the top off and sell them for burn barrels and trash cans in rural areas.

Guess I'm just the "typical white person" and a "redneck", but, then again, I have no drum problem either.
Linerman
Posted: Oct 22, 2008 06:54 PM
You could cut the A side barrels in half(length wise) and use them for BBQ Grills, might give the meat a funny taste but I'm sure you'll get used it. Now that's redneck.

You could also weld the barrels together end to end and make a water sled.

Or you could weld barrels together and make a giant robot looking thing.

Just think of all the ideas you do with empty drums. lol
Chris Cole
Posted: Nov 03, 2008 10:23 PM
Ok, heres one for you guys. I just bought a trailer and inherited the old drums on it. one set is half full and has been sitting for 8 months. (I'm assuming non usable) What do I do with this stuff?
Linerman
Posted: Nov 03, 2008 10:38 PM
Material only has a 6-12 month shelf life in unopened containers so unfortunetly yours is well beyond the shelf life so you can either do the following:

Pour one component from the drum into the other and mix to react the two and simply toss out.

Pay the $500 to dispose of the material with a hazardous waste/barrel recycling facility.
SprayFoamSupply.com
Posted: Nov 03, 2008 11:01 PM
I have sprayed out foam that was over a year old. It still makes foam and depending on the formulation, it could still be good foam. You just have to know where you can and can't spray it. First thing to do would be to spray some in some cardboard boxes or on plastic and look at the cell structure. If it looks good, you must know someone that could use some insulation. If it looks not so good, you must know someone who needs some insulation. Closed cell can be used in a crawl space or on an old stone foundation. Open cell, even old stuff with poor cell structure can be used on the ceiling. It might not have as much R-value as new stuff, but it will still prevent air movement and still be better than filterglass or cellulose. I have never had to dispose of any chemicals, they all get used somewhere.

George
Steven Greene
Posted: Nov 22, 2008 10:45 PM
Call your nearest safety clean they will pick up the drums for $225.00 but get all you can in the drum because you pay the same full or partially full.
Michael Fusco
Posted: Nov 29, 2008 10:18 AM
ALL manufacturers tell you not to pour the bottom of the barrell into the next one. Most applicators do that.

If you are going to pour the leftover into the next drum, please use a funnel that has a screen in the neck. Any transmission fluid funnel will work.
Posted: Nov 29, 2008 05:52 PM
i would agree with george 100%. i just sprayed (october) some ucsc roofing foam that was a year old. i was concerned about being way past the "6 month shelf life" however, the foam worked worked absolutely fantastic.
spray that foam! tell us what happens.
Melvin Chandler
Posted: Nov 30, 2008 06:56 PM
My only worry would be that I get some junk in my lines (a side) and cause some problems. I guess I could filter the old A and then spray it. I've got some stuff I've got to get rid of. Right now I've got some year plus old 2# BASF that's come from multiple barrels, some year old plus Sealection that was combined from old barrels (one set) and one set of year plus sealection that hasn't been openned. Also have about 1/2 set of 540 polyurea that's about 2 years old. Probably no good now.

What's the best thing to use to filter the old chemicals?

We're putting up a new warehouse and I'm thinking about using up all of my scrap in the building. Would be a good place to waste it. Will also be doing a demo in the new warehouse for local contractors/specifiers but will use the new stuff for that.
SprayFoamSupply.com
Posted: Nov 30, 2008 10:45 PM
Newby, stuff that gets in your lines will get picked up by your filters. You can filter the iso through some window screen if you think there are excessive crystals in it.

George
Linerman
Posted: Dec 01, 2008 07:45 PM
X2 on the window screen I would definitely filter the "A" side especially if its more than a couple of months old.
Melvin Chandler
Posted: Dec 01, 2008 11:12 PM
just a typical window screen? What about something like a screened in porch screen?
Gerry Wagoner
Posted: Jan 02, 2009 03:20 PM
That's the same thing, Newb.

Good luck,


oG
quentin
Posted: Jan 09, 2009 08:24 AM
Just put some panyhose over the pump before putting it in the barrel and that will also screen it out.

They are also good for when you go camping to keep from getting ticks! LOL Yeah, found that out in the Marines when stationed at Camp LeJeune in the late 1980s. Picture a Marine going in the PX and asking the ladies to help him figure out what size he needs when getting ready to go to the field for training. Embarassing as all heck but it wirked to stop them and the chiggers.
Gordon Howard
Posted: Jan 10, 2009 03:17 AM
Warning:

I did the giant robot looking thing and it got way out of hand.

Also rocket ships are a bad idea and very costly.
Although, I must admit it is a good way ot get rid of them. They blow up, end up in space, sell easy to terrorists on the internet, or the government takes them away for you and disposes of them. If you do the ebay terrorist thing, the government takes you away instead.

Stick with the BBQ grills.

gordon
Posted: Jan 10, 2009 08:03 AM
...dont put pantyhose over the pump and put in the drum....
quentin
Posted: Jan 10, 2009 10:18 AM
You tried that Dude? Seems to be a workable setup and I was talking to a guy who has done it for years with no problem so was going to give it a try.

Hmmm, barrels up in Craig's List might work for that end too. People are frequently looking for them for various things.
mason
Posted: Jan 10, 2009 10:51 AM
I don't typically post on these forums but this is an important topic and I thought this information would help.

This comes from Chapter 1, Safety and Health of SPFA Course 101, The Fundamentals of SPF.


"In most cases, diisocyanate waste can be treated through neutralization. A neutralization solution can be prepared by thoroughly mixing water with 5-10% sodium carbonate or 3 to 8% concentrated aqueous ammonia [Note: Care should be taken to avoid exposure to high concentrations of ammonia vapors, which may be given off when ammonium hydroxide solution is used. For this reason, sodium carbonate is the preferred treatment solution.] The neutralization solution can be stirred rapidly into the waste diisocyanate in a well-ventilated area. Keep the drum open (i.e., uncovered or with all bungs removed). If the drum is sealed, the gas produced could cause the drum to expand and to rupture. Allow the neutralized mixture to stand for at least 48 hours. The liquids and solids resulting from this procedure are classified as hazardous wastes by the federal authorities at this time. NOTE: Follow manufacturer instructions for neutralizing diisocyanates. The above does not constitute a complete explanation of the procedure or instructions for neutralizing surplus diisocyanates.

The procedures described above are effective for small quantities (i.e., one drum or less) of diisocyanates. If disposal of large amounts of diisocyanates is necessary, contact the manufacturer for the proper procedures.

Empty polyol drums can be recycled by sending them to a drum recycler. There are three disposal options for empty drums that contained MDI or polymeric MDI (PMDI):

• Offer the drums to a Department of Transportation (DOT) - certified reconditioner for recycling
• Dispose of the drums in a municipal solid waste landfill, unless MDI or PMDI is considered a hazardous waste in your state.
• Dispose of the drums through a RCRA-permitted Hazardous Waste Incinerator if MDI or PMDI is considered a hazardous waste in your state.

Under no circumstances should empty drums be removed from a work site for personal use. Even though a drum has been cleaned, there is a good possibility that the original material or material residue will still be inside. These drums will always contain potentially toxic residual material. WARNING: DO NOT CUT OR BURN OUT THESE DRUMS WITH A CUTTING TORCH. This could easily ignite, explode, or release toxic vapors. "

"Job site wastes consisting solely of construction debris, such as old roofing materials, do not normally require any special handling or packaging for disposal, unless they contain asbestos or other unusual hazardous materials. If you are unsure, it is suggested that they be treated as hazardous. However, cured polyurethane foam does not meet the criteria of a hazardous waste, according to RCRA guidelines, and should be acceptable for landfill disposal. Some landfill facilities may ask for a MSDS on cured polyurethane foam before allowing disposal."


The next comments are from me based on documents that the polyurethanes group put out a few years ago. I have tried to find them but they are no longer on their website.

Drums do not have to be drip dry. Ask your drum recycler how they would like the drums prepared.


You can mix waste polyol with the iso to form a solid urea that can be taken to most landfills. But, it is very messy, can create a lot of exothermic heat during the mixing.

For more information check out your state or local regulations on disposal of drums and low level hazardous wastes such as MDI.

Hope this helps.
mason
Posted: Jan 10, 2009 11:12 AM
I found the document. Go to polyurethane.org and click on publications. Enter the following document number in the search box.

AX 151. Then you have to register to download the document. It is called Guildelines for the Responsible Disposal of Wastes and Containers from Polyurethane Processing.

If you have trouble, I can email it to you as an attachment.
Dennis Davidson
Posted: Mar 13, 2009 02:36 PM
Olger has it right!
Crush-em!
Hey, it's not only addicting it's green too! Recycled scrape metal!
There are companies that will come to the job site and pick up all your "empty" drums. Cost is about $5-8.00 per drum. Cheaper than hauling them a couple hundred miles and paying someone to crush them. Still, it's fun to crush something every now and then.
Posted: Mar 14, 2009 08:08 AM
i stackem in "the big Mack" box truck,,,
i haulem about 12 miles to...
the local scrap yard,,,,
they give me "tin" scrap prices for them...

most often it doesnt pay for the labor and time to haul them,,,,but it does pay some,,and i can get 80 out of the yard at a time,,thanx big mack....

ps: when scrap prices were up...woo hoo i had a $350 load,,
sushi and beer,,,sushi and beer!!!

'dude

yes i have strained via pantyhose and paint strainers,,
ever get one loose in the drum full of product,,,or maybe pull one into the foot valve...or,,,or,,,the sky is falling....

You need to login to reply to this topic. Please click here to login.