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Recycling oil
 Recycling
oil is one of the best “trends” in the automotive world.
For a long time, people have seen the importance of disposing of
used oil properly, but why not take it just one step further and
recycle it? There are great benefits related to recycling oil.
What reasons are there for recycling oil?
If you do not dispose of oil properly, it can cause many problems,
like:
· Blocked house drains and sewers
· Contaminated drinking water supplies
· Harmful effects on fish, birds, and plant life
· Pollution of our waterways
· “Logging” can occur. “Logging”
is when oil seeps into the grounds and seals the soil off from both
water and air which can kill earth worms and bacteria, both of which
are necessary for regenration
· Burning oil can release chlorines, fluorines, and heavy
metals into the air, causing pollution.
Benefits of recycling oil, instead of simply disposing of it properly,
include:
· Conserving petroleum which is a non-renewable resource.
· Saving money by not having to import lubricating oils
· Recycled oil can be re-sold as an industrial lubricant
or a boiler fuel oil to generate heat or electricity
· By recycling oil, we are promoting a more sustainable lifestyle
and extended the usefulness of natural resources.
· Saving consumers money
According to the Environmental Protection Agency:
· By recycling 2 gallons of used oil, you can generate enough
electricity to run the average household for nearly 24 hours
· While it takes 42 gallons of crude oil to produce 2.5 quarts
of new lubricating oil, it takes only 1 gallon of used oil
It is important to remember that motor oil does not wear out like
your fan belt or your tires do. Rather, your motor oil just gets
dirty. It simply needs to be cleaned. Recycling oil is essentially
cleaning it. It is cleaned by removing dirt, nitrogen, chlorine,
water, insolubles, and other byproducts of being used in a vehicle.
Once the used oil is rerefined, it can be used as a lubricant,
among other things. This “rerefined” oil is essentially
equivalent to virgin oil!
There are a few rules, though, that you should follow when recycling
oil:
· You should reuse your oil containers whenever possible.
It is too difficult to recycle plastic when it is contaminated with
oil, and you will need to dispose of them properly.
· Make sure that you minimize the chance of spilling your
oil from the container while pouring it into a collection bank.
· If you changed the oil in your car yourself, you can still
recycle your oil. Just carefully collect the oil in a leak-proof
container. You can check with one of your local auto maintenance
centers or your waste collectors to see where and when you can drop
off your oil to be recycled.
· Be sure to also recycle your oil filters, as well.
Please make sure that you are recycling oil. And if you see people
that are not recycling oil, tell them why it is important to.
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