I never knew filter disposal was so regulated until my shop got fined

Honestly, I had to post this after what happened at my place. We were just throwing old spray booth filters in the dumpster for years. Tbh, we never thought about where they end up. But last week, we got a fine because those filters hold toxic paint residues. Ngl, it leaks into soil and water if not handled right. Now we send them to a proper recycling service. Please, take a minute to review how you deal with your filters.

3 comments

3 Comments

xena9141mo ago

Come on, a few filters in a landfill is not the end of the world. The rules are so over the top. Most shops are just trying to get by without getting killed by extra fees and paperwork. Is a little paint sludge really worse than all the other stuff already in the ground? For a small business, that special recycling service is just another cost that makes it harder to compete. When do we get a break?

the_nora1mo ago

Funny how so many small routine things we do have a huge downstream cost, right? Makes you wonder what else we're all handling wrong without even knowing.

oliver_young501mo ago

Totally, it's wild how one small habit can blow up like that. My old shop did the same thing with parts washer sludge. Just poured it out back for ages. Cost us a fortune to clean that patch of dirt up later. Felt so stupid because we just never asked the right questions. Makes you look at every single thing in the shop differently now.