Sooner or later every bottle needs getting rid of: it has gone off, it is nearly empty, or it was never wanted in the first place. Because alkyl nitrite room odourisers are classed as flammable liquids, there is a right way and several wrong ways to do it. This guide covers the UK position in plain English.
The short answer
Keep the cap on, keep the bottle upright, and take it to your local household waste recycling centre as hazardous or chemical waste. Do not pour it down any drain and do not put a bottle with liquid in it into household rubbish or recycling.
Why it must not go down the sink or toilet
Alkyl nitrites are volatile and highly flammable, and the vapour is heavier than air. Poured into a sink it can collect in the U-bend and pipework, where any spark is a fire risk, and the liquid itself has no business in the water system. The same applies to the toilet and to outside drains. It is not a question of quantity; a 10ml bottle is still a flammable liquid.
Why it must not go in the bin
A bottle with liquid in it is a hazard to refuse workers and to anyone handling the waste after you. Bin lorries compact their contents, bottles break, and the vapour from a broken bottle in a confined space is exactly the situation the flame pictogram on the label is warning about. The same goes for kerbside glass recycling: the glass is recyclable, the contents are not.
Where to take it
Every UK council runs household waste recycling centres (tips), and most accept small quantities of household chemicals and flammable liquids. Search your council's website for "hazardous waste" or "chemicals", or ask at the site. Take the bottle in its original packaging if you still have it, sealed and upright, and tell staff it is a flammable liquid so they can put it in the right container. There is no charge for small household quantities at most sites, and nobody will ask what it is for.
If your council collects hazardous waste from the kerbside on request, which some do, the same rules apply: original bottle, cap on, clearly labelled.
What to do with an empty bottle
A bottle that is empty and dry, with no liquid left and no chemical smell, is ordinary glass. Remove the cap, and if your council accepts small brown glass bottles in kerbside recycling it can go in with the rest. If in doubt, take it to the recycling centre with any other bottles.
Do not try to speed this up by leaving a part-full bottle open to evaporate indoors. That fills the room with flammable vapour and is far more dangerous than simply taking the bottle to the tip.
How to tell a bottle has gone off
An opened bottle deteriorates within weeks, faster if it has been kept warm or loosely capped. The signs are a change in colour, a sharp, sour chemical smell rather than the faint sweet one it started with, or no smell at all. A bottle in that state should be disposed of rather than kept. Our guide to how long poppers last covers storage and shelf life in detail, and buying 10ml bottles rather than one large one is the practical way to avoid having stock go off in the first place.
Spills
Open a window, put out any flame and switch off anything that sparks or gets hot, then soak the liquid up with paper towel. Put the towel in a sealed bag and dispose of it with the bottle, not in the kitchen bin. Wash any skin that touched the liquid with soap and water. Do not use a vacuum cleaner.
Unwanted but unopened
A sealed, unopened bottle you simply do not want should be treated the same way as an old one: recycling centre, not bin. Because these products are sold sealed, retailers including us cannot take opened or unsealed bottles back; see our returns policy for the position on unopened goods.
Related reading
- Poppers safety: storage, handling and risks
- How long do poppers last? Shelf life and storage
- Product safety and first aid information
Sold strictly as room odourisers. Not for human consumption or inhalation. 18+ only. Disposal arrangements vary by council; check your local authority's guidance.