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I've gone through several cans of brake cleaner lately and need to get rid of the used cans. The cans don't seem to indicate any special instructions for disposal.

Aside from depressurizing the cans as much as possible, are there any other steps necessary to safely dispose of them in a responsible manner?

I should add that I am not aware of any special disposal requirements imposed by my local municipality, so these will most likely end up in the general rubbish tip regardless of who disposes it.

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Quite easily, just throw them away in your normal trash. If the ingredients or can were bad for the environment, they would not be allowed to be used in the first place. I would suggest using all of the contents first, but there should be no issue with throwing them directly in the trash.

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  • DEFINITELY make sure that the cans are empty. If they aren't, the garbage crusher might cause them to explode, which can damage the crusher and even injure the garbage men.
    – Nzall
    Apr 15, 2016 at 15:11
  • @NateKerkhofs - I agree with them being empty, but do you really think the puny cans would create any chance of damaging the crusher? Those thing are very sturdy.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Apr 15, 2016 at 15:28
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    cans provide resistance against increasing pressure until they pop, at which point the crusher might violently close. This combined with the possibility of flying shrapnel can hit sensitive parts with inadequate shielding, like cables, pressure lines and garbage man eyes.
    – Nzall
    Apr 15, 2016 at 15:57
  • @NateKerkhofs - I'm telling you, brother, trash trucks are built to take much worse than an aerosol can ... much, much worse. These vehicles wouldn't even pause to notice one and I'm sure they are there every day they do their collection ... most probably nowhere near empty.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Apr 15, 2016 at 16:04
  • @NateKerkhofs those trucks can crush a sofa without hesitation, what makes you think a consumer aerosol can will make any difference to it, even if full? Maybe if it was a BBQ gas bottle it would be different.
    – RozzA
    Apr 22, 2016 at 21:02
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You should recycle them - Aerosols are generally made of aluminium. In my area, aerosols are collected by the local authority as part of their standard kerbside recycling, along with normal cans, bottles etc. I don't know whether Qatar has such a scheme, but it's always better (and more responsible) to avoid stuff going to landfill if possible...

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