I know you can drop a box of paints off at Home Depot. That is likely the easiest way to dispose of anything old that should stop living at the hive. I have done this several times with paint cans and rattle cans that have been living in our house for over 10 years.
They take CFLs too…
-D
If only I stopped there once in a while. 
This seems like a plan. Maybe we should do a quick audit of the cabinet at some point and make sure we don’t have some obviously useless stuff floating around in it. I’ll check next time I’m down.
I can pick up the used bulbs at the same time. Does anybody know which pile of bulbs on top of the lounge is the “not working” pile? If nobody knows I can always just test them out.
the two or three long ones in the middle of the fab lab are bad.
We did an audit of that stuff when we got the new cabinet. Probably time to do it again, if not to just organize it a bit.
Amnesties are often done as a tax write off, public service to county residents, etc. But behind that there is still some service being paid to sort, containerize for transport, and haul that stuff away to the right landfill, or incinerator. The gray area is that most amnesties are not for a business, but an individual. It’ll work, right up until it does not and some official needs a receipt for disposal.
Etching is not so bad… you just need consider the disposal cost afterwards. Look at photography… those solutions? Heck… there is enough silver in them, that they get recycled. Might be the pcb etchants have enough soluble copper to be worth something. Key thing with waste is… if you can sell it, it is not a waste. Might be electro platers want that stuff. Large scale industry looks to recycle that stuff, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-05/documents/handout-10-circuitboards.pdf
Seems to me that folks need to be responsible for any chemicals, etc they bring in. Isn’t that part of cleaning up after a project?
If I use a chemical, I plan on disposing of it properly. When I dispose of etchant, for example, I neutralize the acid, precipitate and filter the copper(II) carbonate formed and take it to a disposal place. It’s not that difficult. I’ve also used spent etching solutions to do my own DIY copper plating…
Point is, simply be responsible. Also, clearly label things.
I’m going to start my own hackerpace.
DEATH ZONE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED LLC.
“our name is our disclamer”
-Dave
I agree, but then I come in and half the woodshop is covered in saw dust and the trash can is full. I’ve come to the conclusion that if somebody is not cleaning up after our less contentious members, nobody will. That includes throwing away the crap they leave behind.
I’m in.
- Ian B.
Although this sounds silly, I wonder if it would be worth considering including an actual, physical trip to the dumpster
(or actual neutralization and disposal of etchant, e.g.) as part of certifying for a given workspace or machine.
Then, at least, no one who is cleared to use the area/machine could plead ignorance as to the technique of disposal.
I could take walk folks out back during the CNC course.
Can’t hurt. For people who are new to the space the unlocking of the Hive door + travel through the common areas might be intimidating or raise concerns about going places they’re not supposed to be going.
Sadly it’s one of those things that’s hard to enforce. Assuming you knew who the problem was (which is hard) if they don’t response to social shaming the next option (suspension/termination) is pretty nuclear.
There is no stick and the carrot is rotting. ™
-D