Hobo, I think the thing you found, though super cool, is more for the smaller butane canisters hikers prefer that look like Sterno cans. I believe the OP means the green one-pounders Coleman manufactures.
Regionally, our New England yards are sensitive about them, given regs about pressurized canisters, which are handled as hazardous waste. They can't be stored indoors while pressurized but shouldn't be left outdoors in high-heat/low-humidity environments, either, or near where people smoke. Finding a place to stash tanks is a hassle, in itself. They are an enormous inconvenience but given that we are a municipal facility, we feel some obligation to our taxpayers to do what we can with them. Our local yard takes them from us, knowing that we wouldn't dare send them anything not above board. I don't know know if they extend this courtesy to small-scale scrappers.
I have toyed with the idea of just attaching a trigger valve to the top and letting them vent without lighting the ignition, preferably out in the woods, someplace. Propane is not a greenhouse gas so, technically, there is no EPA violation in doing as much. However, a labtech informed me that, in some states, intentional ventilation counts as "processing" and makes you a HHW handler.
Coleman manufactures these little things for their customers, which depressurize the tank but aren't made for venting remaining propane. Their directions recommend attaching it to a stove and burning off remaining fuel until it won't hold a flame before using these tools. But seeing little green knobs doesn't guarantee your yard will take them on sight.
I've been looking to purchase this thing, which would solve most of the pressure and processing issues. The outlay is stiff, especially given that the metal byproduct is steel and not some higher-value metal. I see it as a way to sell a service geared towards handling a potentially dangerous and hard-to-recycle material.
Just be super careful in all of your handling. As many people here know, highly-pressurized substances like propane, when released, result in extreme "relaxation" of air molecules, such that nearby surfaces will become very cold, very fast. Even these tiny tanks can decline in temperature severely enough to cover their valves in ice and burn human flesh during ventilation. The tank, itself, while speedily evacuating, will become incredibly cold and harm your hands, if you do not wear gloves, to say nothing of what can happen to your eyes if you happen to be facing the valve stem when it suddenly depressurizes. I used a Green Key on a half-full one-pounder and it became to cold to hold almost instantly, remaining that way for nearly 15 minutes.
At present, most of what we get we send to an authorized, equipped propane vendor. They aren't keen on the small tanks, though.
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