Ever looked at discarded oil containers?

[addyguy]

So, I was parking my Tribute in the garage I park at for work, and as I walked around to make sure I was well-placed in the spot, I saw a discarded Formula Shell 10w30 oil bottle against the wall of the spot next to the one I was in.

Without even thinking, I went up to it, picked it up, checked if there was anything in it, looked at the label to see how old it was, etc...and then, not having a garbage around, I carefully put it back where it was.

As I walked away, it suddenly occured to me how odd of behaviour that was - picking up a discarded container to see exactly what it was - I'd never do that with a pop bottle or anything else...so I got thinking, am I the only one, or if you see a discarded oil bottle that isn't 'gross', do you have a quick look?

C'mon, please tell me I'm not the only one!!!

 

[kballowe]

Symptom #1: You belong to this forum
Symptom #2: .....

 

[renegade_987]

Dont worry, I do it to, lol. Only on occasion, though

 

[Artem]

I've done the same thing too. Even opened it up and took a look inside. haha.

 

[mongo161]

I've done it on many occasions. Sometimes if someone leaves an empty JUG.... with the cap.....I toss it into the back of the 4Runner for re-filling with old, discarded, oil when I do an Oil Change.

Sometimes I've lucked out...Found some empty 5-6 ounce Lucas UCL bottles or Sta-Bil bottles..... with the CAPS still on the empty! I reuse these convenient little bottles with my mix of TC-W3 with Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner for gas fill-ups.

Sometimes....it only makes sense to reuse some items that are discarded by others....saves the environment or they come in handy for another purpose.

 

[CATERHAM]

Yes I do it IF the brand and grade are interesting.

A mechanic freind of mine works at a Honda dealership and I once noticed that they routinely throw out (into the plastic bottle recycle bin) half filled bottles of oil. I commented on how wasteful that is and told him to put them aside and I'll take them. That was about 3 years ago and I've acummulated more oil that I can use, so now I just have him save the 0W-20 oil and I still accumulate oil faster than I will ever be able to use it.

 

[Artem]

^seems like that dealer need to STOP WASTING VALUABLE resources on top of all the money down the drain.

Sad.

Since you're recycling them, i guess it helps somewhat.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Dealers, quick lubes and independent garages don't try to get every last drop from an oil container, to them time is money. If you go to an oil change place, you will see that every discarded oil bottle would have at least 1/2 oz remaining, some as much as 1 oz or more. If they have a large container and some funnels with discarded oil bottle set upside down, they can collect a gallon or two of oil a week. But it doesn't worth the time for them to do that.

 

[PRND3L]

Time to go dumpster diving behind the quickie lube, ROFL.

 

[dparm]

You're an oil raccoon.

 

[The_Jeff]

My town dump takes oil for "recycling" (waste oil furnace) in what are often the original containers and I check out the brands others are buying. Lots of Mobil 1 5 quart containers, above the fleet average. Maybe those who change it themselves spring for "something good".

 

[steve20]

I always turn my empty containers over and let them sit for an hour, so I get the last bit out.
I read a while back, there is almost an ounce of oil left in every 'empty' quart bottle

 

[dlafoy]

Has anyone ever eaten a discarded oil container? Well I have, and they taste just like they smell........... Delicious !!!

 

[aquariuscsm]

I always turn mine over and lay them out in the sun for awhile after an oil change,then empty the rest of the remaining oil into the engine. You`d be suprised to see how much oil comes out of the bottles!

 

[VWguy]

Ahhh, I'm so busted! Here goes, my name is Bill and I'm an oil-holic. I'm in Los Angeles and used to work near a HD truck oil change place. I'd stop in and ask for some empty gallon oil containers as I was gonna change someones oil and needed a few good empty's with lids. Wow, over the course of a couple of years I accumulated a boat load of the Delo, Delvac, and Rotella jugs and would drain them into other similar jugs. To this day, I have multiple jugs of Delo LE, Delo 40wt, Delvac 1300, Rotella 15w40 and 40wt.
I also have saved the drippings from the Chevron/Havoline oils I have used. And I have a Shell Rotella gallon jug, because of its wide mouth, with anything I've found at work, parts store parking lot, etc. Talk about a BLEND! I was gonna use this in the VW's oil bath air filter.
So, there you have it. I've confessed. I even saved the completely drained empty jugs and since I had the room, collected a fair share as I found a recycle place that would PAY for them, but only .01 per pound. I'm standing in line with about 8-9 baskets full of these drained oil jugs when this female supervisor walks out of the office and walks up to me and asks me what I had. I replied I had #2 non-crv(calif recycle value) plastic. She said they don't take oil containers. I replied that they have been completely drained and I prooved it with a blue delo jug. She said she did not care. I replied that my oil jugs were cleaner than the some Mayonaise jar that's been rotting for a week and that since your company is a gov't funded recycle center and if she refused my items I would report her a$$ to the state! Well for my 38lbs I got 38 cents! I guess I showed her who was boss! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I am a true oil-holic. I would never have done this before joining BITOG! My name is Bill and I'm an oil-holic.

 

[TFB1]

Nope, I'd probably just kick it and keep on movin'...

I did drain my "empty" Mobil 1 0W-40 containers and put it my Zoom spout oiler, got a little over three ounces from six bottles...

 

[raytseng]

Originally Posted By: VWguy
Ahhh, I'm so busted! Here goes, my name is Bill and I'm an oil-holic. I'm in Los Angeles and used to work near a HD truck oil change place. I'd stop in and ask for some empty gallon oil containers as I was gonna change someones oil and needed a few good empty's with lids. Wow, over the course of a couple of years I accumulated a boat load of the Delo, Delvac, and Rotella jugs and would drain them into other similar jugs. To this day, I have multiple jugs of Delo LE, Delo 40wt, Delvac 1300, Rotella 15w40 and 40wt.
I also have saved the drippings from the Chevron/Havoline oils I have used. And I have a Shell Rotella gallon jug, because of its wide mouth, with anything I've found at work, parts store parking lot, etc. Talk about a BLEND! I was gonna use this in the VW's oil bath air filter.
So, there you have it. I've confessed. I even saved the completely drained empty jugs and since I had the room, collected a fair share as I found a recycle place that would PAY for them, but only .01 per pound. I'm standing in line with about 8-9 baskets full of these drained oil jugs when this female supervisor walks out of the office and walks up to me and asks me what I had. I replied I had #2 non-crv(calif recycle value) plastic. She said they don't take oil containers. I replied that they have been completely drained and I prooved it with a blue delo jug. She said she did not care. I replied that my oil jugs were cleaner than the some Mayonaise jar that's been rotting for a week and that since your company is a gov't funded recycle center and if she refused my items I would report her a$$ to the state! Well for my 38lbs I got 38 cents! I guess I showed her who was boss! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I am a true oil-holic. I would never have done this before joining BITOG! My name is Bill and I'm an oil-holic.


The recycle plant is right; the oil may have contaminated the plastic and is often non-acceptable. She probably just paid you off to avoid the fuss that she'll make up somehow, but would probably have to trash your containers after you left.
It is not cost effective if your oil residue plastic ruins a complete batch of recycling. Residue from Mayo and food won't ruin a batch of recycling like motor oil.
Academics are working on new recycling techniques to handle oil-contaminated plastic but it's aways off before it is cost effective.

Regarding getting the last drop out, it's good for the environment, as you can recycle the oil and less residue goes to the landfill, but you're deluding yourself if you think you are saving oil. The amount you get out is miniscule in comparison to the oil used in the oil change. You could've saved WAY more just by underfilling your oil change to middle or the low mark instead of full for example-or by extending your oil changes.

 

[A_Harman]

More Oil-Compulsive Disorder behavior:

Checking out the selection of motor oil in any parts store, WalMart, or Meijer that you go to, even if you don't need any oil. I find this helps fill out a slow Saturday afternoon.