Oil recycling: Help me get a better understanding

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cwilliamsws6

cwilliamsws6

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When I did my first oil change on my first car a few months back I took my used oil in the jug to AutoZone and while they emptied it into this giant dumpster looking thing I had to write my name, address and amount of oil I disposed on a paper that said Safety-Kleen at the top of it.

I tried to research the company and how oil recycling works and I found a few videos but I am still confused. I need someone who can dumb it down a bit so I can understand lol.

Like, once I get rid of my oil and sign the paper, where does it go from there? How does the oil recycling process work? And if oil recycling is so common why can't I buy pure recycled oil instead of NextGen which is only 50% recycled? Just curious. Thanks!
 
Often recycled oil is used to power ships. The Americans never liked recycled oil. They often think of it as junk. Never thinking that the oil in the used oil barrel is cleaner than what comes out of the ground.
 
Originally Posted By: cwilliamsws6
When I did my first oil change on my first car a few months back I took my used oil in the jug to AutoZone and while they emptied it into this giant dumpster looking thing I had to write my name, address and amount of oil I disposed on a paper that said Safety-Kleen at the top of it.

I tried to research the company and how oil recycling works and I found a few videos but I am still confused. I need someone who can dumb it down a bit so I can understand lol.

Like, once I get rid of my oil and sign the paper, where does it go from there? How does the oil recycling process work? And if oil recycling is so common why can't I buy pure recycled oil instead of NextGen which is only 50% recycled? Just curious. Thanks!


Safety Kleen recycled thousands of gallons of oil from multiple places. Some people around my area and northeast use used oil for heating their shops.

I give mine to a friend with his homemade metal casting furnace as he fires with used oil
 
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Think of the used motor oil as being 'similar' to crude oil in terms of it being a base oil stock mixed in with a bunch of other stuff that you may or may not want.. If you run it through the same kind of refinery processes that crude oil goes through, you will end up with some nice clean reusable base stock oil, plus a bunch of other.. stuff.. that may or may not be useful.

I have used recycled motor oil in my car on many occasions, in the form of Valvoline NextGen oil, and I never had a problem. IMHO, if refining it once makes it good enough for my car, then re-refining it should leave me with an even 'cleaner' product, if that's possible.

As has been said above, however, a lot of American's are skittish about using recycled oil in their cars. Lord knows why, but they are. I'll take it all day, as long as it's been done right.
 
I think a lot of recycled / rerefined base oil is blended into new oil without any marketing. They are chemically identical as long as the distillation is done right.

Some people do have a concern about backyard recycling, but I trust Safety Kleen to do it right. It may not save a lot of money because of the extra overhead in collecting waste oil, but the product is fine.

It might also be cheaper to burn it, instead of burning diesel or heavy oil in ships, but the metallic ash in the additives is probably not the best for the environment.
 
I turn my old oil in to be recycled.
Best answer for OP would be from Safety Clean.

Pricing of recycled oil -
If it's really inexpensive, people will think it junk.
If it's competitively priced with 'new' oil, people would rather pay a little more and get 'new'.
Tough sell either way.
 
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I’m just glad my sanitation service collects it once a month from the curb. I hope it goes to good use.
 
Thanks for this thread. I always wondered too. I asked local mechanic once, he didn't know but when I asked what you do with the oil you drain, he uses to heat his shop during winter. No wonder, his place is super toasty in winter.


Originally Posted By: cwilliamsws6
When I did my first oil change on my first car a few months back I took my used oil in the jug to AutoZone and while they emptied it into this giant dumpster looking thing I had to write my name, address and amount of oil I disposed on a paper that said Safety-Kleen at the top of it.

This is new to me. I hand it over to local AutoZone in NY. Earlier, they used to ask if there is anything other than oil in it, but now, they just ask me to leave the containers in one corner, no name, address or volume, nothing.
What would they need all those details for, esp if everything is going into one huge container?
 
I'm a conservative guy and yet I'm totally on board with recycling...in fact, you can't spell conservative without 'conserve'. I just wonder what happens to the A/T fluid, brake fluid etc....that gets dumped in the oil recycle bin? I have a friend who says that I'm wasting my time putting out recyclables....he swears it all goes to the garbage dump and that it's just a feel good thing....I sure hope he's wrong.
 
more places need to take used oil/
around here advance auto does.
Id support a law (yes, regulation) that places that sell a huge amount of oil have to take it back into a tank
 
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Originally Posted By: pbm
I have a friend who says that I'm wasting my time putting out recyclables....he swears it all goes to the garbage dump and that it's just a feel good thing....I sure hope he's wrong.


True. There was a story in the news around here about a year ago. There isn't enough demand for all of this recycled "stuff" (glass, paper, etc). 90% goes right to the dump.
 
The short answer:

Motor Oil base stock never, ever wears out. The additive package does. Contaminants must be removed.

Recycling Motor Oil involves the contaminant removal and the additive package replenishment, viscosity grade assessment and re-packaging. It is for all intents and purposes equal to new base stock oil, probably semi-synthetic blend (since a "semi-synthetic" new base stock oil has an unknown amount of synthetic stock and can be almost anything (eg 1% syn or 99% syn or anything in between) to be labeled "semi-synthetic". Well, maybe not 1%, but you get the idea.

They blend the recycled stock with new base stock because it is part of the process to get a known API grade.

As I understand it, most gasoline-grade API multigrade oil starts out as 20 grade and then gets the Viscosity Improvers to extend the grade. With recycled oil they probably get a mixture of base stock instead of nice 20 grade.

People are (as someone said) suspicious of recycled oil, and it's true that you don't get that "I know what brand oil I have" feeling, but if you want to save money, don't feel you require a full synthetic oil and you can run the grade offered, there is no logical reason to fear it.

The "sign ze paper" routine is news to me; never experienced it. It might be some kind of control / know the user / thing, because I know for a fact that certain ... ahem ... "legitimate businesses" based in northeastern US whom operate hazardous waste collection services were caught dumping dioxins into tankers of gasoline instead of doing the expensive true disposal routine. People would pump the gas into their cars and burn the cancerous toxins as they drove. I might be able to find a link or three if anyone wants, it was in the news as they got caught doing it. Gas stations in the New York / New Jersey / as far as Montreal were getting the fuel.

See:

https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/05/nyregion/illegal-dumping-of-toxins-laid-to-organized-crime.html
 
I really wish this industry would be more strictly regulated. I'm sad that Valvoline no longer makes the NextGen recycled oil. I had great success with it. Felt good using it too.
 
Thank you to everyone who answered. I'm extremely patriotic so it's cool that some of the oil goes to the military and stuff like that. lol

Adding onto what a few of you said, I really do wish that recycled oil was more commonly sold because I would be more than happy to use it. It's a shame so many people just make assumptions and aren't on board with it.
 
O'reilly is the only chain place around that requires you to sign form with info, quantity, etc.
I don't understand what good that does, though. If they find a big turd in there, what are they gonna do, knock on everyone's door? What happens when everyone says "wasn't me"
They also make you take the empty bottle back with you.

All others you just go to the back and dump yourself, or give it to the guy and he'll do it, if you want.

Whether burned or recycled, it is much better than simply pouring it down your storm drain or into the gravel or even sending it to a landfill.
Like another guy posted, I'm a conservative dude but I'm all on board for recycling/reusing/repurposing.
There is a finite number of resources. It behooves everybody to look to alternatives.
 
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