What should a garage or workshop do with petrol contaminated with diesel?

In brief

If a garage or workshop discovers diesel in petrol, the first steps are to stop drawing fuel from that tank, keep the contamination contained, and get the load assessed. Diesel will not ignite properly from a spark plug, so a petrol engine fouls its plugs and injectors, smokes and misfires, and the catalytic converter can be damaged. Call 07950 582635 or send an enquiry.

Diesel in petrol at garages

At garages, misfuel drains, fuel drained for tank and pump repairs, and fuel from vehicles that have stood for months. Diesel ends up in petrol, kerosene or avgas through misfuelling, deliveries into the wrong tank, shared containers and depollution drains.

Collecting petrol contaminated with diesel from garages

Drums, cans and IBCs. As needed, often bulked up over a few weeks.

Rules at garages

Petrol in a workshop is a fire risk under DSEAR, so drained fuel is kept closed and away from hot work.

Is petrol contaminated with diesel still worth collecting?

Yes, as mixed fuel, by reprocessing.

How City Fuel Services handles waste petrol

Send us the five details: business and postcode, roughly how much waste petrol there is, what it is and any contamination, how it is stored and reached, and whether you need one collection or regular ones. We assess it, confirm a rebate or a collection charge, and collect on a consignment note.

Terms used in this answer

Uplift: The fuel trade's word for a collection: pumping fuel out of a tank or container and taking it away.
Consignment note: The document that travels with hazardous waste from the producer to the receiving site. Each person in the chain completes and signs their part.

Key facts
Problem	Diesel in Petrol
Sector	Garages and workshops
Fuel	Petrol
Also called	gasoline, motor spirit, unleaded
Waste code	13 07 02* (petrol)