Author Topic: Disposal of meths (Read 3802 times)

andrewc · « **on:** 25 June, 2015, 08:37:43 pm »

I'm on a French campsite & need to get rid of nearly a litre of alcool a bruler so I've an empty fuel bottle for my flight home tomorrow night.

What's the best way to get rid of it ?

Pour it out on Tarmac so it evaporates in the heat ?

Pour it down the ordinary bog ( can't be worse than bleach)

Special bog for emptying chemical toilets?

Flog it to French taxi drivers for incendiary bombs ?

Drinking it is not an option, the local rose' is quite adequate....

Little Jim · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 June, 2015, 09:15:30 pm »

Shame you're not going anywhere near Calais as the next lot of strikers would have been very grateful for it to get their tyre stockpile going.

Jurek · « **Reply #2 on:** 25 June, 2015, 09:23:34 pm »

I think it is water soluble, so the drain might be an option.
Defenders of The Planet, and Chemists will be along shortly.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #3 on:** 25 June, 2015, 09:33:35 pm »

I wouldn't chuck it down the bog in case the next person in chucks a fag end in there....

Feanor · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 June, 2015, 09:36:39 pm »

Oh, that must be a compelling reason to do exactly that...

MikeFromLFE · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 June, 2015, 09:38:23 pm »

I'd chuck it down the bog and flush a couple of times. It's not 'water soluble' but is much more miscible than say petrol. I'm sure much worse goes into French drains!

Kim · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 June, 2015, 09:39:58 pm »

Meths party!

(Okay, it's probably not cold enough to justify that. But if you had some coke cans you could get a few stoves going...)

It won't take long to evaporate from tarmac...

Presumably there aren't any other meths-powered campers about you could donate it to?

andrewc · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 June, 2015, 09:58:28 pm »

I'm quite tempted to pyro technically donate it to the people who've plonked their camper van on top of my tent when there are loads of other spaces they could have chosen

I'm in the woods at the arse end of the campsite, did you think I picked this spot because I wanted company ??

hatler · « **Reply #8 on:** 26 June, 2015, 08:41:03 am »

Pour it on the ground. It will evaporate.

nikki · « **Reply #9 on:** 26 June, 2015, 09:22:03 am »

Meths party would indeed be the Kim and nikki approved method of disposal.

Sit back and enjoy.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #10 on:** 26 June, 2015, 09:50:29 am »

Quote from: andrewc on 25 June, 2015, 09:58:28 pm

I'm quite tempted to pyro technically donate it to the people who've plonked their camper van on top of my tent when there are loads of other spaces they could have chosen

Put it in their fuel tank?

caerau · « **Reply #11 on:** 26 June, 2015, 10:17:47 am »

I'm a chemist

Chuck it down the drain, it's only a litre and will be diluted beyond all recall very very quickly.

It's alcohol, it's entirely freely soluble in water.

andrewc · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 June, 2015, 12:17:41 pm »

It got dumped onto a pile of rubble.

Now to convince Security that the red bottle covered with warning messages is harmless!

andrew_s · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 June, 2015, 01:04:08 pm »

Quote from: andrewc on 26 June, 2015, 12:17:41 pm

Now to convince Security that the red bottle covered with warning messages is harmless!

like Caerau said, it mixes with water very easily.
Wash out the bottle with hot water, including flushing water through the valve/tap.

It will be just the same as a rinsed out whisky bottle - if you can't smell anything, it's OK

You could even put wine in, and tell them it's not a fuel bottle at all, but that you've been using it with those supermarket fill your own bottle taps you see sometimes, so you don't have to drink the lot at once.

andrewc · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 June, 2015, 01:09:11 pm »

Hopefully it will be OK, never had a problem before.

andrew_s · « **Reply #15 on:** 26 June, 2015, 01:10:12 pm »

updated message above

matthew · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 June, 2015, 01:55:08 pm »

Quote from: Caerau on 26 June, 2015, 10:17:47 am

I'm a chemist

Chuck it down the drain, it's only a litre and will be diluted beyond all recall very very quickly.

It's alcohol, it's entirely freely soluble in water.

I'm a water treatment engineer and that's a good way to spike the BOD at the treatment works.

However it is often dosed into works in the final treatment as it is so easily consumed by the biology.

caerau · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 June, 2015, 01:56:58 pm »

BOD?

If it had been 400 gallons I'd have given a different answer. With people chucking bleaches and whatnot down loos left right and centre I can't see that it's anything other than a very small drop in the ocean

woollypigs · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 June, 2015, 01:58:16 pm »

Leave it for another camper to use.

Tim Hall · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 June, 2015, 02:01:12 pm »

Quote from: Caerau on 26 June, 2015, 01:56:58 pm

BOD?

If it had been 400 gallons I'd have given a different answer. With people chucking bleaches and whatnot down loos left right and centre I can't see that it's anything other than a very small drop in the ocean

Here comes Bod.

(Biological Oxygen Demand).

caerau · « **Reply #20 on:** 26 June, 2015, 02:02:15 pm »

Yeah, I looked it up already but thanks

Vince · « **Reply #21 on:** 26 June, 2015, 02:06:49 pm »

Quote from: woollypigs on 26 June, 2015, 01:58:16 pm

Leave it for another camper to use.

I think it might have been in an expensive Trangia bottle or similar.

hubner · « **Reply #22 on:** 26 June, 2015, 04:14:37 pm »

The answer, of course, is to give it to someone else to use.

To dump it is a waste of resources.

David Martin · « **Reply #23 on:** 27 June, 2015, 12:08:12 am »

Quote from: andrewc on 26 June, 2015, 12:17:41 pm

It got dumped onto a pile of rubble.

Now to convince Security that the red bottle covered with warning messages is harmless!

BTDT, I said "drop a match in it, I'll do that now if you want". (MSR fuel bottle that had had white gas in.) They accepted it was suitably dry.