# Disposing of Fragrance/Essential Oils Gone Bad



## amd (Oct 2, 2018)

I'm cleaning out my soap lab, and one of my projects this week is cleaning out the FO/EO drawers and shelves. I've come across a handful of EO's and FO's that are many years past their expiration date and smell off, so I need to dispose of them. Can I chuck them in the bin as is or is there a more correct way to dispose of them? The bottles are 2-4 oz size, but none of them are full.


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## DeeAnna (Oct 2, 2018)

If some of your EOs aren't body safe but otherwise smell okay (and you like the scent), you could use 'em in potpourri or something like that. 

To discard them, you don't want to put flammable liquids in your trash. In Iowa, the DNR suggests letting small amounts of household flammable liquids evaporate and then discarding the containers and any solid residues. 

I'd put the EOs in an EO-safe pan (something with a large surface area for faster evaporation -- maybe a disposable aluminum pie pan?), put the pan outdoors in a safe place away from pets and kids, and let the EOs evaporate into the open air. I'd leave the cap off the EO containers and let any bits evaporate from them too, if that's reasonable. Discard the residues and containers in your trash.


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## Lin19687 (Oct 4, 2018)

I put mine in kitty litter to soak it all up and brought it to the recycle dump... where I think I saw him put it in the regular trash.
Call your Dept Of Public Works (DPW, or what ever you call the town guys, lol) they will be able to tell you.


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## jcandleattic (Oct 4, 2018)

Lin19687 said:


> Call your Dept Of Public Works (DPW, or what ever you call the town guys, lol) they will be able to tell you.


When I called ours in our city, they asked about the msds sheets, so I emailed it over to them, then they said to just dump it in the trash!!  No special handling required. 

(This was for FO's, not EO's as I very rarely work with EO's and when I do, I completely empty the bottle by using the EO, let the empty bottle sit for a few days, then use the diswasher to wash the bottle so I can reuse it)


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## cmzaha (Oct 4, 2018)

I just take mine to hazardous waste and let them do what they want with it


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## LadyV (Oct 5, 2018)

For old EOs I  used them in the laundry,  defuse  in  water as a room Deodorizer, put a few drops on a paper towel and put them in the car, put a few drops on a paper towel and put them in drawers, add to vinegar for cleaning the house. Before discarding do a EOs do a Google.


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## amd (Oct 6, 2018)

These oils smell "off" - meaning unpleasant, which leads me to believe they have gone bad, so I definitely don't want to reuse them in something. My husband called the utilities (everything is managed under a municipals group) and they had no clue. They suggested following the paint procedure: mixing with clumping cat litter and putting in the regular garbage.


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## Cambridgearomatherapy (Oct 6, 2018)

In UK so different rules no doubt. I use them up if not smelling off in Laundry or diffuser. If smelling off, they go on the compost heap.


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## Lin19687 (Oct 7, 2018)

Oh,  I have to admit that I did use one bottle to spray along my fence so try and keep the **** neighbors dogs away from..... not sure it really worked.  Leaving it to sprout Big Tall weeds does tho.... wish I could have done Pricker bushes, but it is a rental


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## Fargood (Oct 8, 2018)

We live in a rural area with no way to properly dispose of hazardous waste as a regular consumer. I have brought my old lye containers and essential oil bottles to the seed/fertilizer plant and if I time it right, they will dispose of the canisters/bottles with a big batch of return farm chemical containers.


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