Waste Oil & Other Automotive Products
Many automotive products are flammable and most contain toxic ingredients. In many areas, residents are not permitted to throw away flammable material in the garbage, down home drains or down storm water sewers. Automotive products are not appropriate for septic system disposal. If you dispose of these products improperly, they will pose a hazard to drinking water quality and living things.
Please note: In view of rapidly changing information about the toxicity of hazardous substances, readers are cautioned to take personal responsibility for following the guidelines listed here. If you need additional advice, contact your county extension office or your district DNR office's hazardous waste section.
Waste Oil
Recycle. Oil never wears out, it just gets dirty! Automotive and small machine oils include: waste crankcase oil, hydraulic oil (may be found in farm tractors and floor jacks; if you suspect PCB contamination in old hydraulic systems, do not recycle this oil, gear lubricants, transmission fluid. Many components of oil are toxic to living systems. Oil poured onto the ground or down storm sewers will eventually find its way into lakes, rivers, streams or groundwater. Improperly disposed oil could contaminate our drinking water and poison or damage other living things. Don't use dirty oil to kill weeds or to oil roads!
Automotive & Machine Oils
Recycle. Recycling is easy! After draining oil, transfer it to a container with a tightly fitting lid, such as a plastic jug or metal can. Take the oil to a collection center near your home. The centers are outdoors and usually open 24 hours a day. All insoluble machine oils listed above are acceptable for oil recycling except those contaminated with PCBs or other hazardous materials. However, some automotive products are not acceptable at oil recycling centers, such as antifreeze, brake fluid, gasoline and water soluble lubricants. Call your local or county solid waste department or DNR district office if you have questions about what products can be recycled.
Disposing of the rest
- Antifreeze - Flush less than one gallon at a time down a home drain (toilet or washtub) if connected to a municipal sewer system. Dilute. Antifreeze is highly poisonous to people and animals. Its sweet flavor attracts children, pets and other animals. They may taste antifreeze spilled on a driveway or surface. Septic system users should flush very small quantities only - less than one quart per day. the rate of breakdown of antifreeze in a septic system is not known. For advice on disposing of larger quantities, contact your local sewer district or automobile service center.
- Auto Body Filler - Mix resin and hardener in a well-ventilated are to allow to harden. Dispose of in trash.
- Batteries - Recycle. Car batteries may contain strong acids that can cause severe burns. Most batteries also contain lead or other hazardous metals that are poisonous. Recycle car and small engine batteries by trading in the old battery at the store where you buy the new battery. If your automotive parts supplier does not accept old batteries, you can take them to a recycling or battery business. See "Recycling Centers" and "Batteries - Retail" in the Yellow Pages. Call these businesses to make sure they will accept your battery.
- Brake Fluid - Flush small quantities down home drain if connected to a metropolitan sewer system. Dilute. Brake fluid is chemically similar to antifreeze. Flush small quantities - less than one gallon at a time - down an indoor drain and dilute with water. If you have a septic system, check the antifreeze advice for appropriate disposal.
- Contaminated Gasoline - Let solid contaminants and water settle, then pour off gasoline carefully. Use gas gradually by mixing small quantities with clean gasoline. A ratio of 1 part contaminated to 5 parts clean should work well. Gasoline recycling is available in some communities where a solvent recycling business is located. Gasoline is extremely flammable. Do not use gasoline as a cleaner or solvent. Instead, use a parts cleaner that has a lower flammability rating or a product with a low hazard rating such as detergent. When buying parts cleaners, look for the signal words - CAUTION, WARNING and DANGER - to help you decide which product to buy. Because of its flammability, do not use gasoline to kill weeds. Do not mix gasoline with waste oil. If you need to store gasoline, store it only in small amounts and in specially constructed gas cans. Do not dispose of gasoline in trash or down a drain.
- Gear Lubricants - Recycle. See advice for waste oil above.
- Transmission Fluid - Recycle. See advice for waste oil above.
- Waste Oil - See detailed advice above.
Parts Cleaners, Auto Paints, Car Polishes & Wax
Share or evaporate. Use up large quantities of leftover products by sharing them with neighbors, high school/technical school auto classes or service stations. Parts cleaners, liquid paints and polishes are flammable and toxic. Do not throw liquids or pastes in the trash or down a drain. If you can't use small quantities, you can safely dispose of them by evaporating small quantities. Once the liquid evaporates from these products, the remaining chemicals are locked into the solid and won't leach into the soil. However, burning the solids releases the chemicals and may raise the level of mercury and other potentially toxic chemicals in the ash. For that reason, if your community incinerates trash, check with the waste department to see whether you need to separate organic solvent solids from the trash to be burned. Cleaners and polishes in aerosol cans need special attention during disposal. Partially full aerosol cans may explode when hot. If you can't use or share your aerosol products, empty a mostly used aerosol container by spraying the remaining contents into a box while outside and away from flames, children or pets. Be careful not to breathe the spray. Materials in clogged aerosol sprays may still be usable. Unclog aerosol spray cans by carefully cleaning the slit at the end of the spray button stem. Replace parts and turn can upside down and spray for a few seconds.
When Flushing Home Chemicals
Chemicals will interact and sometimes produce new toxic chemicals or gases. Flush your product down a clean toilet or washtub and thoroughly rinse before adding any other chemicals such as toilet bowl cleaner or cleanser. Some chemicals which can be safely flushed into a municipal sewage treatment system should not be flushed to a home septic wastewater treatment system except in small amounts. If no other disposal alternative is available, wrap product container in newspaper and plastic and dispose of in landfill.
For general disposal of specific items, please visit
Information provided by University of Wisconsin - Extension
For more information, please contact:
Kewaunee County Emergency Management
416 Fremont St., Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 487-2940