What Does Triple Rinse Mean and Why Do It?
The new millennia is starting to show a global environmental awareness and a steady development of a conscience by primary polluters and industry.
With many chemicals now being found in our food chain, consumers are looking closer at the production ethics of industries and how they are meeting environmental obligations.
Businesses and industry are “self-examining” their environmental policies and goals and looking to ways they can reduce their commodity footprint on the planet.
Vast volumes of chemicals are used in numerous industries daily, with the bulk distributed across the nation in plastic containers and these are often contributing to the harm of the environment.
While a levy is paid on each chemical container sold, chemical users place little value on the waste container and often place little care on where it goes after use.
Illegal bonfires of plastic drums was once a solution used by many, without care for the toxic black clouds produced or the leaching of chemical and plastic onto the soil. Many more buried in landfills.
Large numbers are repurposed, often becoming field markers, storage bins, fluid containers and continue the contamination.
Responsible users utilise the national container recycling program for these containers and endeavour to meet the voluntary cleaning standards for the containers to begin their journey along the recycling path.
The Triple Rinse Procedure
Called the ‘triple rinse method’ the cleaning standard calls for users to thoroughly clean containers after use and place aside to dry before they are returned to collection points for recycling.
When emptied, the chemical user, is required to remove the cap, fill the container with 25% volume of water, re-cap, then agitate the container vigorously for 30 seconds, before removing the cap and draining out the contaminated water.
This is repeated a further two times or more until the container shows no traces of any residual chemical and can be put aside to dry.
DrumMuster’s Own Chemical Drum Disposal Solution
As you can see, this method is time consuming, water consuming, and physically taxing, which will often see the chemical waste water penetrate the soil or discharged into drains.
The triple rinsing will use 15 litres of water to clean a 20 litre container, the cap played with six times, the fill hose and tap three times, and at least 90 seconds of vigorous activity – for each container!
It is a handling process for this recycling chemical drums that is shunned and shortchanged by many – for these reasons and the due care for the cleanliness of the container is neglected.
Collection points and transfer stations inspect sample drums as they are brought in and a declaration form is filled out, stating the containers have all been cleaned to the triple rinse standard.
While an obviously chemical coated container may get rejected, the majority do not get inspected and pass onto the recycling chain, still containing and bearing toxic chemicals to further contaminate the path.
The triple rinse chemical drum cleaning standard is voluntary and unenforced, relying on the moral conscience of the user to recycle responsibly.
The TripleRinser ™ provides the perfect solution to the most challenging step of the whole chemical drum recycling process and has made both compliance and recycling very simple.
