Disposal of small propane canister question.

[bighatnohorse]

Is it okay to toss the small green Coleman barbecue type propane canisters into the trash dumpster when they are empty?
Or is there a proper disposal management for them?

[RinconVTR]

obgraham wrote:
But nobody has answered my question: what actually happens to the propane canister when it goes into a specific recycle bin, or when it is picked out of the usual recycle line?

I not only answered, but I answered with specifics AND pictures.

When the bottles are picked out or recycled properly, they are evacuated and recycled as any other steel is. They are NEVER reused or refilled.

[fyrflie]

CavemanCharlie wrote:

mileshuff wrote:

skipro wrote:
I refill them and use them again.

On the side of the bottle is a warning not to refill.

Do you have some sort of adapter to refill them from a larger tank?

They make adapters and sell them on the internet. There are also a bunch of videos on how to do it. You do not get them very full unless you remove the relief valve on the container.

I have never done it. I just heard about it. I don't think that you can legally transport them if they are refilled.

Nothing magical happens to the cylinder when you refill them except they aren’t as full as a new cylinder. ( my experience)

The do not refill warning is two fold. Increase profits and to cover their arse should a cylinder fail.

[fyrflie]

SoundGuy wrote:
Here in Ontario we're asked to recycle propane canisters in orange bins located in each provincial park, operated by Stewardship Ontario. Hard to believe there aren't similar programs in the US. :h

There are.

[2112]

Steps I take to refill
Wrap a damp towel around small bottle and place in the freezer for an hour.
With large bottle valve closed place adapter on large bottle and turn upside down.
Screw small bottle onto adapter and open valve. Check for leaks.
Leave attached with valve open and frozen towel on bottle for 1 minute.
TURN VALVE OFF and remove SMALL BOTTLE from ADAPTER.
Repeat

[rbp111]

It is easy to refill. All you have to do is chill the small container, or put it in the freezer. Then when you refill the container, you put the adaptor on the container and then you turn the larger container, the one having the gas to refill the small container, over. You open the valve and hear the gas going from the larger container into the small one. When the noise stops, you close the valve. Disconnect and you have it refilled.
Like it was said before, you don't fill it all the way, about 3/4 or there abouts. The adaptor is not cheap, but it sure does pay for itself after filling up the small containers.

[tinner12002]

skipro wrote:
I refill them and use them again.

I've also thought about doing that! Looks pretty easy.

[CavemanCharlie]

mileshuff wrote:

skipro wrote:
I refill them and use them again.

On the side of the bottle is a warning not to refill.

Do you have some sort of adapter to refill them from a larger tank?

They make adapters and sell them on the internet. There are also a bunch of videos on how to do it. You do not get them very full unless you remove the relief valve on the container.

I have never done it. I just heard about it. I don't think that you can legally transport them if they are refilled.

[mileshuff]

skipro wrote:
I refill them and use them again.

On the side of the bottle is a warning not to refill.

Do you have some sort of adapter to refill them from a larger tank?

[tenbear]

Here in Vermont we return the empty containers to the dealer for recycleing.

[Edd505]

skipro wrote:
I refill them and use them again.

me too

[westend]

At a local steel plant, they recycle vehicles for scrap metal. The car is hoisted to a hopper about four stories high. The vehicle is ground down into shreds, the foam and plastics entering one waste stream, the non-magnetic metals into another, and the magnetic steel bits carted to hopper rail cars where it is stored for the blast furnace.

Most steel recycling is similar, it is just scale that differs. Most waste haulers fear these small propane cylinders as they can and do get crushed while hauling. Some start fires within the load and that is a big problem.

[2112]

Most recyclables here in the US is loaded on a return ship to China and returned as products at a later date. China recently stated they will reduce how much recyclables they will receive because their economy is allowing them to create their own. They don't even want our trash anymore.

[hotbyte]

Like mowermech we have a small 1 gallon refillable cylinder, adapter T and hoses. Much better solution than little green bottles.

[harmanrk]

Atlee wrote:
The haven't answered, because they have no idea.

Most folks who religiously recycle, have no idea what happens to the stuff they recycle. They just know to put stuff in either Box A,
Box B, or Box c, and that's the end of it.

obgraham wrote:
But nobody has answered my question: what actually happens to the propane canister when it goes into a specific recycle bin, or when it is picked out of the usual recycle line?

Steel recycling process is pretty straight forward. On a sort line, the plastic base and plastic caps are removed, and the steel canister is tossed on a conveyor that takes it to a compactor, or to a pile that is feed to a compactor. The compactor then crushes the canister, and other steel to be recycled in a bale (A large square bundle of steel) The compactors are able to exert hundreds of tons of pressure to do this, they do not care in any propane may remain in the canister, they simply flatten them.

The bales are then sold to a steel mill, who will melt then down in a furnace, along with fresh iron ore, and other trance elements to make 'new' steel, that is then cast into ingots, bars or sheets, and sold to manufacturers.