RECYCLE YOUR MOTOR OIL

 

Americans use approximately a billion gallons of motor oil every year‑‑and 350 million gallons of it winds up in the environment.

 

BACKGROUND. Auto manufacturers recommend that we change the oil in our cars every 6,000 miles. But they don't tell us what to do with the old oil. It's become an important issue; used motor oil is perhaps the worst oil for the environment, because it's not just oilwhile it's flowing through your engine, it picks up all kinds of extra toxins.

 

DID YOU KNOW

 

Some experts estimate that 40% of the pollution in America's waterways is from used crankcase oil. About 2.1 million tons of the stuff finds its way into our rivers and streams every year.

 

When used motor oil is poured into the ground, it can seep into the groundwater and contaminate drinking water supplies. A single quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of drinking

water.

 

Pouring oil into the sewer (or onto the street, where it will even­ tually wash into the sewer) is like pouring it directly into a stream or a river. And just one pint of used motor oil can create a poison­ ous oil slick an acre in diameter.

 

Tossing oil into the trash is essentially the same thing as pouring it out. The oil will be dumped in a landfill, where it will eventually seep into the ground.

 

SIMPLE THINGS TO DO

 

If you get your oil changed at a gas station:  Check first to make sure they plan to recycle it. If not, take your car somewhere where they do.

 

If you change oil yourself (and about 50% of American drivers do), recycle it: Most communities have gas stations or oilchanging outlets that recycle their oil and will accept yours for a small fee, ranging from 250 to $1 a quart. It costs, because they have to pay someone to pick it up. Call around to find one close to you.

 

To make the whole process easier, you can invest in a doityourself oil recycling kit. These come with containers that double as oildraining receptacles and carrying cases for transporting the oil to a recycling center. We know of two of them on the market: the "Pacific Lube Oil Collector," made by Pacific Landings, Ltd., and the "Oil Change Recycling Kit," by the Scott Paper Co. If your local automotive store doeset have them, contact the companies directly at the addresses listed below.

 

RESULTS:

Most recycled oil is reprocessed and sold as fuel for ships and in­ dustrial boilers. The rest, according to our source, is processed into lubricating and industrial oils.

 

Another source adds that there is a future in rerefining it into motor oil. A new technology, created by Evergreen Oil of Newark, California, can turn a gallon of used motor oil into 2.5 quarts of new oil. If America recycled the billion gallons of motor oil we use every year, we would save 625 million gallons of motor oil.

 

RESOURCES:

 

Pac,Lube Oil Collector, Gary Wilson, Pacific Landings Ltd. 1208 SW 13th, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97205. (503) 2222343.

 

Scott Oil Change Recycling Tub, Scott Paper Do4tYourself Business, Scott Plaza, Philadelphia, PA 19113. (800) 3212250.

 

For info on oil recyling: Evergreen Oil, 6880 Smith Ave., Newark, CA 94560. (4157954400).

 

You can also c4all your city recycling ditision to find places which accept oil for recycling.