How To Dispose of and Contain Liquid Waste

Liquids Discharged in Manufacturing February Blog 2

Every year, nearly 17 million tons of textiles end up in landfills. How can you decrease your industrial company’s waste and help the environment?

What Is Liquid Waste?

Liquid waste is a byproduct of manufacturing processes that use a combination of hazardous liquids, such as:

Fats
Oils
Grease
Wastewater
Cleaning fluids
Pesticides
Processed water
Chemicals

After using these liquids, you can’t toss them or materials containing them into the trash, as they’re potentially harmful to humans.

Fluid waste can quickly spread and pollute water sources when it’s not contained properly. Manufacturers are required to follow specific guidelines to properly dispose of liquid waste to prevent water contamination, poisoning, or damage to food sources.

What Is Liquid Waste Pollution?

Liquid waste pollution occurs when liquid waste contaminates the environment. When you dispose of this waste outdoors, the liquids soak into grass, groundwater, and plants, polluting food and water sources.

If your manufacturing company produces liquid waste, you need waste management materials to minimize liquid waste pollution.

How To Dispose of Liquid Waste

Several eco-friendly materials help your business clean up liquid waste without harming the environment, including:

Industrial Absorbent Mats

Industrial absorbent mats soak up different industrial liquids, including oils and coolants used around machinery and other equipment. Most industrial mats are single-use and disposable—when you throw them away, they can potentially leak into water and food sources.

There are several types of reusable industrial mats that serve different purposes and don’t harm the environment:

Quilted Mats

Quilted mats absorb food oils, coolants, cutting fluids, and water. You can use quilted mats to quickly clean liquid waste spills or leaks. These mats are completely customizable and come in many sizes.

Hydromats

Hydromats are explicitly used for oil absorption and can be used on any surface. These mats float on water, extract oil from water sources, and are typically:

Thin
Durable
Anti-slip
Slick surface applicable
Quick absorbents

Absorbent Sock Subs

Reusable sock subs absorb oil spills and water-based liquids. They’re able to remove liquids that are near machinery.

Shop Towel Laundry Service

Instead of using single-use or poor-quality towels to clean liquid waste spills, use shop towels cleaned by professionals. When your towels get too dirty, you might consider throwing them away—but a shop towel laundry service minimizes waste and lowers costs.

You no longer have to keep purchasing new towels just to throw them away eventually. Shop towels not only absorb more liquid, but you can also reuse them after cleaning. Some laundering companies wash the towels and professionally extract the waste from them, making them an eco-friendly and cost-effective option.

Want to implement a laundering program that benefits the environment?

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Industrial Shop T-Rags

Industrial shop t-rags have a similar function to shop towels; they’re used to clean small oil or liquid waste spills. Many industrial rags end up in landfills because users throw them away after getting them dirty.

Some laundering companies wash t-rags for you, so you can reuse them over and over again instead of spending money on new ones.

Liquid Waste Recycling Programs

Instead of throwing away materials full of liquid waste, potentially contaminating water sources and ecosystems, implement a liquid waste recycling program.

Liquid waste disposal programs like these reduce the amount of liquid waste in landfills by professionally extracting and recycling the waste from your materials. Not only are you helping the environment by reusing materials, but you’re also helping in the recycling of fluid waste, as many recycling plants have uses for this waste.

Minimal Liquid Discharge

Minimal liquid discharge is the process of extracting liquid waste from your reusable cleaning materials, like mats, rags, and towels. Professional laundering companies clean your dirty materials and send them back so you can continuously reuse them.

This process saves your business money on purchasing disposable cleaning materials, enhances your green initiative efforts, and creates less liquid waste.

Where Can I Get Started?

If your manufacturing business wants to minimize liquid waste, partner with Closed Loop Recycling. CLR washes your used cleaning materials, extracts the liquid waste from them, and sends them right back to your business.

We’ve stopped over 230,000 gallons of liquid waste from entering outdoor environments—and with your partnership, that number will keep growing.

Let’s help the earth together. Contact us today to learn more about our laundering services.