How to dispose of decaf coffee?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is undercaffeinated. You need a strong jolt of regular coffee. Then your brain will be able to figure this out.

This is the root of the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could just drink it. That's how most people get rid of decaf coffee.

This! I don’t drink decaf and I (gasp!) use a Keurig but guess what? I never throw any coffee out because I drink every drop!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did OP say if this was a decaf latte? No wonder she's worried.

More seriously, I had no idea about milk, and I wondered about the environmental piece given that it would go to the water treatment plant. Found this on a forum where this was being discussed:

Ex manufacturing chemist here - I think there are two issues: biochemical oxygen demand, and contamination of drinking water by animal products. The second one is not an issue for people pouring milk down the sink into the waste water because the waste water is treated and tested before it runs out to the sea or wherever. The first issue, of oxygen demand, is only an issue if a large volume of milk gets shoved down the sink - the oxygen demand is related to the amount of the stuff, it's not like a poison or anything where small amounts could cause problems. That's why there are rules for businesses and not for private homes. It's not just milk either, it's anything with a lot of edible stuff in it. Some colleagues in the lab next door to us got in trouble when the BOD of our water waste went up significantly one week, and they found out it was because they had disposed of about 100l of growing medium (basically sugary jelly) down the sink. You wouldn't think twice about washing a jelly down the sink, and you'd be right not to - it's the pouring of hundreds of litres that does the harm.

The city where I live regularly reminds residents about grease and items like wipes ad tampons but has never mentioned pouring milk dow the drain, and this is probably why.

Although I just use sour milk for biscuits or waffles or something. Or if just slightly off I make ricotta.

FYI, aside from the oxygen issue, you're not supposed to pour fats, oils, or grease down the drain and that category includes dairy. Dairy belongs in the trash, not down the drain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does it matter that it's decaf?

Do you not understand the effect of the decaffeination process on coffee beans and the related disposal issues?

Exactly. That is why I keep a bucket I get from Home Depot (5 gallon) for my unused decaf and grounds and bring it to the Ft Totten transfer station weekly with any other hazmat. I thought everyone did that.

Duh. No I don’t. This is a total troll post of course. You pour it down the sink.

Ft Totten's not an approved hazmat disposal site. You have to take it to Ft Dietrich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milk in the toilet is no different than poop/diarrhea.

No, milk is much worse.

You learn something new on DCUM sometimes. Looks like milk in the drain is bad. “ This is because milk requires adequate oxygen to be broken down, denying other organisms the air they need for survival. Even worse, large quantities of milk can suffocate the entire ecosystem.”

Except the stuff that goes down the drain in your house goes to a water treatment plant before being released into the wild. There are no fish at the wastewater treatment plant, and in fact, bacteria are used as part of the secondary treatment of water. I have no idea what that article was referring to... thousands of gallons from a dairy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milk in the toilet is no different than poop/diarrhea.

No, milk is much worse.

You learn something new on DCUM sometimes. Looks like milk in the drain is bad. “ This is because milk requires adequate oxygen to be broken down, denying other organisms the air they need for survival. Even worse, large quantities of milk can suffocate the entire ecosystem.”

Except the stuff that goes down the drain in your house goes to a water treatment plant before being released into the wild. There are no fish at the wastewater treatment plant, and in fact, bacteria are used as part of the secondary treatment of water. I have no idea what that article was referring to... thousands of gallons from a dairy?

Untreated wastewater goes straight into the waterways every time it rains, here.

[Anonymous]

Decaf? Set it on fire, and then find out who brought decaf into your house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pour milk down the drain and never knew there was anything wrong with it. Honestly, I don’t plan on stopping. I also flush tampons. I can only care about so much.

Read the link, please.

Put milk in the trash for the incinerator or landfill.

And again, read the refutations from the scientists on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milk in the toilet is no different than poop/diarrhea.

No, milk is much worse.

You learn something new on DCUM sometimes. Looks like milk in the drain is bad. “ This is because milk requires adequate oxygen to be broken down, denying other organisms the air they need for survival. Even worse, large quantities of milk can suffocate the entire ecosystem.”

Except the stuff that goes down the drain in your house goes to a water treatment plant before being released into the wild. There are no fish at the wastewater treatment plant, and in fact, bacteria are used as part of the secondary treatment of water. I have no idea what that article was referring to... thousands of gallons from a dairy?

Untreated wastewater goes straight into the waterways every time it rains, here.

Not from your house, dear... It is runoff from the sidewalks.

If you feel that untreated sewage is entering the waterways, please have a talk with your government officials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does it matter that it's decaf?

Do you not understand the effect of the decaffeination process on coffee beans and the related disposal issues?

Exactly. That is why I keep a bucket I get from Home Depot (5 gallon) for my unused decaf and grounds and bring it to the Ft Totten transfer station weekly with any other hazmat. I thought everyone did that.

Duh. No I don’t. This is a total troll post of course. You pour it down the sink.

Omg 🤣🤣 thank you for the laughs!

[Anonymous]

This is the most bazaar thread I've ever read here.

I always pour coffee down the drain. Grounds go in the trash.

I heard that putting milk down the drain is bad as it can suffocate the fish, but c'est la vie because I'm not dumping milk in my garbage to sour or pouring it outside of my house to attract pests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is dcum. When leftover food or drink accumulates, we just buy a new house.

Thank you for that laugh.

Please someone save this link for the next "what's the weirdest thing you've seen on dcum" thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pour milk down the drain and never knew there was anything wrong with it. Honestly, I don’t plan on stopping. I also flush tampons. I can only care about so much.

Read the link, please.

Put milk in the trash for the incinerator or landfill.

That article is from the UK, their milk and systems are different.

And the article is for businesses not a household who’s throw half gallon of spoiled milk at most and definitely not op with her 1/2 cup of unfinished coffee.

https://homeardent.com/can-you-flush-milk-down-the-toilet/
So here’s a USA article.
It is discouraged here. Just that most people that know it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did OP say if this was a decaf latte? No wonder she's worried.

More seriously, I had no idea about milk, and I wondered about the environmental piece given that it would go to the water treatment plant. Found this on a forum where this was being discussed:

Ex manufacturing chemist here - I think there are two issues: biochemical oxygen demand, and contamination of drinking water by animal products. The second one is not an issue for people pouring milk down the sink into the waste water because the waste water is treated and tested before it runs out to the sea or wherever. The first issue, of oxygen demand, is only an issue if a large volume of milk gets shoved down the sink - the oxygen demand is related to the amount of the stuff, it's not like a poison or anything where small amounts could cause problems. That's why there are rules for businesses and not for private homes. It's not just milk either, it's anything with a lot of edible stuff in it. Some colleagues in the lab next door to us got in trouble when the BOD of our water waste went up significantly one week, and they found out it was because they had disposed of about 100l of growing medium (basically sugary jelly) down the sink. You wouldn't think twice about washing a jelly down the sink, and you'd be right not to - it's the pouring of hundreds of litres that does the harm.

The city where I live regularly reminds residents about grease and items like wipes ad tampons but has never mentioned pouring milk dow the drain, and this is probably why.

Although I just use sour milk for biscuits or waffles or something. Or if just slightly off I make ricotta.

FYI, aside from the oxygen issue, you're not supposed to pour fats, oils, or grease down the drain and that category includes dairy. Dairy belongs in the trash, not down the drain.

From a licensed industrial wastewater expert:

Household disposal of dairy products are easily disgusted by septic systems or municipal treatment facilities. There is no reason to think it needs special treatment.

Milk as a waste stream has a high BOD 9 g/L (Biological Oxygen Demand), a low nitrogen content and a low phosphorus content. The treatment of the dairy waste stream at most commercial producers requires the addition of urea and phosphoric acid to aid in the biological digestion. The wastestream is treated to a BOD of less than 200mg\L to be sent to a municipal authority, 30mg\L for irrigation and >10 mg\L for direct water way discharge. Depending on the local regulations total Nitrogen and Phosphorus limits may apply. These limits maybe seasonal as well.

Most household sewage has a low BOD 200 mg/L, and high nitrogen & phosphorus content. It is pretty easy to remove BOD from a waste stream thru biological treatment but Nitrification, Denitrification and Phosphorus removal require a more complicated process, a process that does benefit from a slightly higher BOD than the typical household waste stream. This process is still a biological process but can be augmented with a chemical one at your municipal receiving authority. If you dump a gallon of milk a day down the drain you are probably only adding a 1% to your households BOD lbs. per day and helping to get your households BOD:N range closer to the ideal range.

If your household has a non potable water reuse system, it might not be ideal to pour dairy into that drain. Those systems are incredibly rare and the only ill effect would be on the filter loading. If you have a compost pile, it would benefit from the addition of the dairy products for the added moisture and nutrients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Add caffeine then dispose of it like normal coffee.

seems logical