In Oakland/Alameda County, there is a Household Hazardous Waste Dump. It is FREE.

stopwaste.org/home/index.asp

you might want to check your county waste disposal and/or recycling center -- they do want to keep contaminants out of the landfills, and usually provide a free service if you can provide a personal address in their county.

Mix it with egg whites and have a bit of DIY Napalm...

Really I jest. Household waste is a good start. If they can't take it they should know who will.

JSin

I finally found that there is One site (the primary County disposal site) that will take it but you have to leave the container behind... with the possibility of picking it up later (yeah right). Kinda understandable but also kinda lame, being that they will surely slap you if you bring it in a non-approved container.

Sploosh it on asphalt on a hot day; a little at a time and it's gone. Can't be as toxic as the crap asphalt's made of.

Non-engine uses of gasoline---

- lantern fuel
- camp stove fuel
- pre-wash stain remover rubbed in with rag
- fire staff & poi fuel
- removing road tar & asphalt stains from cars
- soaking dirt and grease from bike & machine parts
- pesticide spray, in water solution
- herbicide spray, in water solution
- barbecue charcoal accelerant
- cleaning grease, grime off bare metal surfaces
- pre-soaking potholes in asphalt driveway to get patch compound to stick better
- & more....

Damn... Only on the Internet... never thought a simple question would lead to so much fun and hijinx.

Here is what I did with my 3 gallons of bad gas... I ordered a free Oil Pickup container from my recycler (as I DO have curbside oil pickup IF you call for it) . The container is a 2 Gallon "approved" container. I put most of my bad gas in there and will take it to the central toxics facility and leave it. (so I don't have to buy and leave a container or use a milk jug) .

The rest (about 3/4 gallon) I am using to clean motorcycle parts (great for soaking off old gaskets... wire-brush cleaning old spokes and also just for degreasing engine parts... I use a big stainless steel mixing bowl for cleaning in and then let what gas is in the bowl degas (a 1/2 cup is evaporated in a day or so)

Thanks for the all opinions ;)

spank it?

I have read through all of the replies before making this response. Very entertaining, thank you!!! Although against popular belief, gasoline in its liquid form does NOT burn. If you do not believe me, then please consider this: If your car engine (not always fuel-injected) becomes "flooded" due to excessive peddle pumping, why will the engine not start? Reason is, it's flooded! It has nothing to do with the spark plugs being "wet." So, how is it that an engine runs on liquid gasoline? Answer: It does NOT. Have I raised a few eyebrows, yet?

Gasoline was a nuisance by-product from refined oil back before the car engine was invented. It was simply thrown away into the dirt. If you think that was amazing. At around the same time, when copper ore was smelted for refining, a dark blue substance was its by-product and that was simply thrown away, too! It was later discovered that the blue substance was "Silver," something that has increased in value over the years, used in Minting U.S. Coins, and became an industry standard for consumption in many of our electronic products. (So, do we really get smarter with age?)

Liquid Gasoline does not burn, especially out in the open air. It is the vapors, known as a "GAS," is what ignites. The vapors are so volatile, it burns rapidly enough to give the "impression" that the gasoline is on fire when, in fact, as vapors are being created from the liquid form - it burns from the surface of the liquid gasoline.

Consider this: If liquid gasoline actually burns, it would not be safe enough to store on our vehicle gasoline tanks. And if you were actually wondering how a "Flooded" car engine is corrected; simply keep the gas peddle pressed to the floor (without pumping) and keep cranking the engine (at 20 second intervals - 30 seconds apart) until the cylinders start firing up. Back off the gas peddle a little to keep the RPMs from exceeding 3000 until all liquid gasoline is flushed past the exhaust valves and you have a stable engine idle.

As for what "Bad Gasoline" really is... It's not considered bad when you have dirt & water mixed in. Water will always collect within a gas tank due to plain atmospheric condensation. It usually occurs more frequently in the mornings, when it's cooler. For instance: You purchase a cup of cold soda at the fast food restaurant and go outside. A few minutes later, you have managed to collect moisture all around the outside of your cup - the drink is NOT leaking, it just collected water out of plain air that's all around you. Our gasoline tanks go through the same process and collect water in the same fashion. The easiest way to reduce this water collection, is to keep your gas tank full as much as possible - do not run the fuel down to near empty. When you do let the tank get to near empty before fill-ups, you create more surface area for the water to condense on (within the tank).

Contrary to popular belief, too, is that water also evaporates. Try this at home: Use a clear jar and fill it with water before closing the jar's lid. Place that small jar of "sealed-in" water on a shelf. To speed things up, the shelf should be a window shelf that has the Sun shining on it in the morning. Check it in about a month to see if that "sealed-in" water is still ALL there.

The point here, is that water in gasoline also evaporates, too. As for dirt: That dirt & rust is caught in the fuel tank mesh filter which is most likely replaced after 20 years of service. The mesh filter is so good that it also expands to keep water from going through, too. Sometimes, it's so good, that it will also keep the gasoline from passing through it when it's saturated with water! (See below, for options.)

Bad Gasoline is actually a fuel that has decomposed, the properties have separated making it unable to vaporize properly to burn in an engine cylinder when compressed. Bad Gasoline occurs ONLY over time. If you only have a water/dirt contamination issue, then do NOT bother with disposal. You will just waste your time & money. Others have suggested on this thread, to simply mix with fresh fuel and that IS the correct solution. It is a natural process & it occurs in nearly every automobile.

However, if the Bad Gasoline is actually bad from sitting over many years, then the liquid fuel has changed its properties. It will smell like varnish and work like varnish. It is still volatile and will work to clean oily items such as tools and other engine parts, so it should be stored in a sealed metal container IF you plan to use as such. Otherwise, do not bother with trying to empty your gas tank of suspected Bad Gasoline. If you are certain your existing fuel is bad, have your vehicle towed to a garage who handles vehicle gas tanks. Pay them for their expertise in removing your gas tank to wash it out clean. They have the professional ability to put it back together so that there will NOT be leaks and you can go about your business at the gas pump like the rest of the people who can concentrate on the more important things in life - such as life itself!