CouchHatter
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reuse of HDPE pesticide jugs
I have a few HDPE jugs from the 70s that used to contain a viscous liquid, glyphosate (Roundup). Their lids have 3-4 threaded rows and as such form an
excellent seal, not to mention their square shape and wall thickness. They're the best! However, I'm concerned about leaching/impregnation of the
plastic. I will distill any solvent that I store in them before use, and have obviously cleaned it repeatedly with soap and solvents. Also from what I
have read it is "nearly" nontoxic to humans, which I could scarcely believe
On the side of the jug is stamped "DO NOT REUSE". I'm not going to take it on hikes or anything... What do you guys think? Just wondering if anybody
else has reused containers containing potentially dangerous things in the containers first life.
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LearnedAmateur
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Basically all my reagent bottles are HDPE. Sulphuric acid, toluene, sodium hydroxide, 40% formic acid, isopropyl alcohol.. They all fare well,
although the H2SO4 bottle does have dark bands presumably from the dye or whatever is contaminating it (it's a drain cleaner, not reagent grade but I
mainly just use it for generating other acids or sulphates which are both purified).
However, I wouldn't use 40-50 year old bottles, especially if it tells you not to reuse them. HDPE is cheap and it'll be worth your while to just
source some more, either empty or if you don't need them right now, buy some other reagents and reuse those bottles if there isn't any noticeable
discolouration or change in the texture.
If you really want to use the bottles again then you'll have to test the plastic with whatever you want to put in it, which may require sacrificing
one of the bottles. Put a small piece of the plastic in the liquid and bring it to a boil, or up to 100C (HDPE melts in the range of 120-180C, in this
case towards the latter) for a few minutes. Let it cool down, take out the plastic and wash it with water, then compare to an untouched piece - if
there's no difference then you're good to go, since leaching and such would occur a lot faster the hotter it is, obviously. HDPE is a fairly resilient
plastic and can hold most chemicals, so I'd be more concerned with how the bottles were stored and how brittle they may be since all polymers degrade
over time.
[Edited on 9-11-2017 by LearnedAmateur]
In chemistry, sometimes the solution is the problem.
It’s been a while, but I’m not dead! Updated 7/1/2020. Shout out to Aga, we got along well.
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Mr. Rogers
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The glyphosate wouldn't worry me but a 40 year hold HDPE container certainty would.
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unionised
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Is a 40 year old glyphosate container a historical artefact?
The stuff was only invented about 1970 and marketed in '74.
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Dr.Bob
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HDPE containers cost under a $1 each, just buy some new ones, any over a few years are a liability. Or buy gallon jugs of anything less toxic at
walmart, and use the contents and then reuse the jug. I get all sorts of things in them, and put used motor oil and antifreeze in them.
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violet sin
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Vinegar bottles are thick, transparent, HDPE, and the gunk that comes in them is useful, nontoxic, food grade as well. They take a lot of physical
abuse. One of the more useful commonly available and safe containers I use.
Garden slacked lime + vinegar is a good way to use the contents if you have no other use for it. Calcium acetate is wonderfully useful for
tomatoes/squash blossom rot. Quick non chloride Ca to plants.
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CouchHatter
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Thank you all for the suggestions! The quick and informative feedback is really encouraging. This is a great community, and I look forward to being a
part of it.
Unionised, I must have read what you did. I really didn't have any idea when the bottles were new but I figured that date was a good worst-case
scenario, for arguments' sake. They must not be nearly that old because they don't seem aged or brittle in the slightest. Maybe they've just been
stored very well... Regardless, I will be recycling them in favor for some 1-gallon new jugs with more innocuous contents. I have plenty of vinegar
and lemon ammonia lying around.
Thanks for the ideas on how to use the stuff I don't need!
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