[TheThinkTank] Disposing of used simple green

Thu Jun 21 18:12:42 PDT 2007

Nathan, I share your distrust of government regulatory agencies, but 
short of conducting our own tests, where else can we look for conclusive 
answers? I see your point about the waste from petroleum based 
lubricants etc. getting into the waste stream, but I think it would help 
to put that problem into perspective a little.
Multiple 10's of thousands of cars drive through the downtown Tucson 
area every day spewing hydrocarbons and various deadly oxides into our 
air, and they leave behind them on the road surfaces, tons upon tons of 
tire dust (600,000 tons per year in the US), brake fluid, oil, etc. What 
doesn't go airborne washes into our storm sewers and straight into the 
Santa Cruz river which brought life to this valley in the first place.
The story is the same in every city. My point here is that we are much 
better off focusing our efforts on getting people out of their cars and 
onto a bicycle than wasting energy fretting about an environmental 
impact that when compared to the larger environmental violence 
associated with the use of automobiles, doesn't add up to a hill of beans.

my 2 cents,

Ian

Nathan Pierce wrote:
> That's surprising about simple green, and makes me
> feel a little better. (Though I don't thoroughly trust
> EPA when it comes to that sort of thing... and the FDA
> for that matter.) Yet using simple green to clean
> parts adds other things besides the "simple" green,
> which are bad for the soil and water... and runoff of
> oil products pollutes a disproportionate amount of
> water.
>
> I like Chris and Re-Cycles suggestions of coffee
> filters to lengthen useful life [for whatever
> cleaner], followed by the hazardous waste disposal.
>
>
>
> from,
> Nathan
>
>
> --- sprocket <sprocket at riseup.net> wrote:
>
>   
>> I let most of the stuff on this list float by, but
>> Nathan, your comments
>> piqued my interest. So, I did some research and
>> found the simple green's
>> Material Safety Data Sheet.
>> (http://consumer.simplegreen.com/cons_msds.php)
>> Here's what it had to say about putting simple green
>> in the soil:
>>
>> Biodegradability: Simple Green is readily decomposed
>> by naturally
>> occurring microorganisms....Per OECD Closed Bottle
>> Test, Simple Green®
>> meets OECD and EPA recommendations for ready
>> biodegradability.
>>
>> In a standard biodegradation test with soils from
>> three different
>> countries, Butyl Cellosolve reached 50% degradation
>> in 6
>> to 23 days, depending upon soil type, and exceeded
>> the rate of
>> degradation for glucose which was used as a control
>> for
>> comparison.
>>
>> Environmental Toxicity Information: Simple Green® is
>> considered
>> practically non-toxic per EPA’s Aquatic toxicity
>> scale.
>> --
>>
>> Seems like as cleaners go, this stuff is pretty
>> benign, which I think is
>> why Bicas and a lot of other places use it. The main
>> active ingredient
>> is butoxyethanol, which decomposes in the
>> environment within a few days
>> and has not been identified as a major environmental
>> contaminant. It is
>> not known to build up in any plant or animal
>> species. And curiously,
>> simple green is the substance used to clean the oil
>> slick off of sea
>> life when oil tankers spill their muck into the
>> ocean.
>>
>> I can't imagine that butoxyethanol is what makes
>> Bicas' mesquite tree
>> grow...I'd bet that its all the extra water its
>> getting...desert trees
>> love to be watered.
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>> Ian
>>
>>
>> ----------
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Nathan Pierce wrote:
>>     
>>> Oh my God... that is so bad for the ground (and
>>>       
>> ground
>>     
>>> water) and surface runoff when it rains.
>>>
>>> Most communities have household hazardous waste
>>> collection facilities, just for these types of
>>> chemicals that are dangerous, bad for the
>>>       
>> environment,
>>     
>>> and they don't want in the landfill.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> From,
>>> Nathan
>>>
>>>
>>> --- troy neiman <troyneiman at myself.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>   
>>>       
>>>> well, we here at bicas use a sink which drains
>>>>         
>> into
>>     
>>>> a bucket.  the used
>>>> simple green usually ends up in there and then we
>>>> pour the bucket, when
>>>> full onto our mesquite tree in front.  i never
>>>>         
>> would
>>     
>>>> have thought but we
>>>> have been doing it long before i was involved
>>>>         
>> here. 
>>     
>>>> the tree loves it
>>>> and has grown from just a 4 foot shrub into a
>>>>         
>> full
>>     
>>>> grown 25 foot tree in
>>>> 5 or 6 years.  maybe simple green, grease and
>>>>         
>> hand
>>     
>>>> cleaner act as a
>>>> growth hormones or something.  also we try to
>>>> encourage that people first
>>>> dilute the easy green, use minimal amounts of the
>>>> stuff if soaking parts
>>>> is absolutely necessary and also reuse it if
>>>> possible as many times as we
>>>> can.  troybicas
>>>>
>>>>   ----- Original Message -----
>>>>   From: "Andy Dyson"
>>>>   To: "The Think Tank"
>>>>   Subject: [TheThinkTank] Disposing of used
>>>>         
>> simple
>>     
>>>> green
>>>>   Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 19:39:21 -0400
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>   Ah, friendly simple green. Such a nice name. Is
>>>> there anything you
>>>>   can
>>>>   do to this stuff to feel better about disposing
>>>>         
>> of
>>     
>>>> it. What do you
>>>>   guys
>>>>   do? .
>>>>
>>>>   --
>>>>   Andrew C. Dyson
>>>>   Executive Director Neighborhood Bike Works
>>>>   Increasing opportunities for youth through
>>>> bicycling
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>   Check our Web Site:
>>>>   http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>   Neighborhood Bike Works
>>>>   3916 Locust Walk,
>>>>   Philadelphia, PA 19104
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>   Office: (215) 386-0316
>>>>   Cell: (215) 873-6695
>>>>   FAX: (215) 386-7288
>>>>
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