In September I wrote a post about recycling e-waste, and I received a comment on the post asking if I knew where people could recycle motor oil. I figured if he had that question, many other people might as well, so I went looking for information on recycling used motor oil. Let’s take a look.

Recycling your used motor oil is very important. I know that in the old days, people changed their oil at home and just dumped the use oil in the backyard, not thinking about what it could be doing to the water table right underneath their house. Just one gallon of used oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of water! Used oil poured down your sewer line can even damage your community’s water treatment system, which in turn can contaminate your drinking water and cost your town a lot of money to fix. But now in most places it is illegal to dispose of oil this way, and recycling centers and “toxic-waste” days have been set up in communities to help deal with the used oil. This used oil can be “re-refined” into usable oil again or it can be burned to make energy in special industrial boilers built to burn recycled oil, so at least there are some uses for the oil that we get rid of.

In my opinion, one of the best resources to find a place to recycle your used oil is Earth 911. You can just type in what you want to recycle and your zip code - and it will provide you with some places you can take your used oil so it is recycled responsibly. If the site does not give you any options nearby, chances are that any local gas station or oil change facility might take your used oil off your hands for free or a nominal charge. Also, you should check your local paper or websites like OurEarth.org to find out when the toxic waste disposal days are in your area. I know where we used to live in California they had certain days of the month when you could bring anything to the facility and they would dispose of it for free. Chances are your town (or a surrounding town) has days like these set up for residents.

When you collect any oil for recycling, be sure to store it in a safe plastic bottle (like a 1 gallon milk jug) with a cap. Label it “used oil” so you don’t put it back in your lawnmower or car! Never store used oil inside your house, and be sure when you transport it to secure it so it doesn’t tip over in the car.

• We Used To Recycle Everything; What Happened?
• Using Land to Grow Biofuels Is Bad For The Environment.
• Do One Thing: Buy Rechargeable Batteries.
• EarthTalk: What Are Smart Cars And Are They Safe?
• We Are All In This Together; Let’s Start Acting Like It.
• Do One Thing: Buy A Recycled Plastic Toothbrush.

Share with others:  StumbleUpon |   Reddit  |   Digg |  Del.icio.us 

Like this post? If so, please consider subscribing to my full feed RSS. Or, if you would prefer, you can subscribe by Email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox:

Enter your email address in the box below. Your email will only be used to deliver a daily email and you can unsubscribe at any time.