Zappa wrote:I collect my oil, coolant and take it to the SCA bins or to the refuse centre for recycling. I'll do the same for the patches. Regardless of quantity and the amount of residual lead, copper and carbon, It's just the right thing to do.
I save my oil and coolant and such and drop it in at the local tip where they collect it for recycling. I don't think anywhere collects oily rags for recycling.
We are currently clearing out a couple decades of old oils that Rose's dad has been saving. The tip won't take large amounts so we drop off eight litres every week, even though they know we're doing it that's the only way they let us
Still a few hundred litres to get through.
I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't as much residual lead in the empty ammo boxes as there would be on your patches. Consider that a 40gn lead bullet can be recovered at the target still weighing 40gn. Deduct any lead that is destroyed during it's flight, it's not likely there's much being left in the bore. When you clean a .22LR bore you are cleaning out lube, not lead. If you are getting leading in a .22LR there is a problem somewhere. Likewise for jacketed bullets, you'd probably have no more than a couple grains of copper left in the bore after several hundred rounds, in a really bad barrel. As for powder residue, the vast majority is spat out the muzzle behind the bullet...into the environment.