O'Reilly's took my used oil but not the bottles; should I throw them in garbage?

I guess I am lucky I work for a huge fleet. I take my single quart bottles and put them in the oil filter dumpster as its allowed
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The county recycling place takes them here. They insist I place them upside-down on their drain rack above the recycled oil tank, which is kinda stupid because it won't drain them as thoroughly as I've already drained mine. I don't know what happens to them when they take them out of that rack. Probably landfill, in which case there's no point in my taking them there.
 
The recyclers where I've lived lately won't accept them. This is why boxed oil is less wasteful. Less plastic used and the cardboard gets recycled.
 
Originally Posted by E365
The recyclers where I've lived lately won't accept them. This is why boxed oil is less wasteful. Less plastic used and the cardboard gets recycled.

If the Havoline Box cardboard is not fully drained and has even a small amount of oil in it, it won't get recycled.
L / XL Cardboard Pizza boxes that have food remnants on the box-bottom, won't get recycled either.

Large plastic Can't Believe It's Not Butter tubs that have butter-remnants inside, won't get recycled. Rinse them out first. Mayo, Ketchup and mustard containers too.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Originally Posted by E365
The recyclers where I've lived lately won't accept them. This is why boxed oil is less wasteful. Less plastic used and the cardboard gets recycled.

If the Havoline Box cardboard is not fully drained and has even a small amount of oil in it, it won't get recycled.
L / XL Cardboard Pizza boxes that have food remnants on the box-bottom, won't get recycled either.

Large plastic Can't Believe It's Not Butter tubs that have butter-remnants inside, won't get recycled. Rinse them out first. Mayo, Ketchup and mustard containers too.




The plastic bag that holds the oil is separate from the box. When you are done remove the bag to be disposed and recycle the box.
 
Triple_Se7en: all my steel cans and plastic refuse I walk to the county recycling site. They have 4 long divided dumpster things. Paper, cardboard, glass, styrofoam etc.

Its getting busier since SHELL chemical donated like $8.5 million to the recycling center
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Our County recycling center has a separate container for used oil and used oil filters. Plastic oil containers go into the plastic recycle bin. I drain my containers overnight.
 
Our county doesn't take lids or caps for
recycling*, so I just get the oil containers as
empty as I can and put them in with the
other recyclable plastic containers in our
curbside bin with no hassles.

*there's another place in the county that
does take plastic lids and caps and someone
in our church takes big bags of them there
a few times a year.
 
My O'Reilly's takes the bottles along with the old oil. They also accept used oil filters. If I have large jugs I always ask them to return those because I use them over and over. I rinse empty new oil bottles with water and dishsoap and put them in the recycle bin.
 
Originally Posted by vavavroom
My O'Reilly's takes the bottles along with the old oil. They also accept used oil filters. If I have large jugs I always ask them to return those because I use them over and over. I rinse empty new oil bottles with water and dishsoap and put them in the recycle bin.


Bottles that have ever held oil cannot be recycled. The oil/additives permeate the plastic and it cannot be used again. You're better off reusing them as many time as possible and then throwing them in the trash.
 
Originally Posted by DBMaster
Originally Posted by vavavroom
My O'Reilly's takes the bottles along with the old oil. They also accept used oil filters. If I have large jugs I always ask them to return those because I use them over and over. I rinse empty new oil bottles with water and dishsoap and put them in the recycle bin.


Bottles that have ever held oil cannot be recycled. The oil/additives permeate the plastic and it cannot be used again. You're better off reusing them as many time as possible and then throwing them in the trash.


It depends on your location. Recology told me it's fine. If I dare put a sliver of bubble wrap or plastic foil in the recycle bin they leave a note. In SF you can actually have Recology pick up your used oil and filters curbside. They even provide up to 5 gallons of jugs and five Ziploc bags for filters.
 
There has recently been a round of public service announcements about proper recycling. Apparently many people include either dirty items or items they mistakenly believe is recyclable. This can spoil a truckload of recyclables and render it to regular trash. If there is any doubt that an item is recyclable, just trash it. And keep the other stuff clean and free of food.

In the old days I would incinerate the cardboard oil cans.
 
Originally Posted by DBMaster
Originally Posted by vavavroom
My O'Reilly's takes the bottles along with the old oil. They also accept used oil filters. If I have large jugs I always ask them to return those because I use them over and over. I rinse empty new oil bottles with water and dishsoap and put them in the recycle bin.


Bottles that have ever held oil cannot be recycled. The oil/additives permeate the plastic and it cannot be used again. You're better off reusing them as many time as possible and then throwing them in the trash.


Really then why do they let the get away with the recycle symbol on the oil containers?
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted by DBMaster
Originally Posted by vavavroom
My O'Reilly's takes the bottles along with the old oil. They also accept used oil filters. If I have large jugs I always ask them to return those because I use them over and over. I rinse empty new oil bottles with water and dishsoap and put them in the recycle bin.


Bottles that have ever held oil cannot be recycled. The oil/additives permeate the plastic and it cannot be used again. You're better off reusing them as many time as possible and then throwing them in the trash.


Really then why do they let the get away with the recycle symbol on the oil containers?


That is what my local recycling program specifies - Waste Management and Republic were the contractors.
 
Originally Posted by DBMaster
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted by DBMaster
Originally Posted by vavavroom
My O'Reilly's takes the bottles along with the old oil. They also accept used oil filters. If I have large jugs I always ask them to return those because I use them over and over. I rinse empty new oil bottles with water and dishsoap and put them in the recycle bin.


Bottles that have ever held oil cannot be recycled. The oil/additives permeate the plastic and it cannot be used again. You're better off reusing them as many time as possible and then throwing them in the trash.


Really then why do they let the get away with the recycle symbol on the oil containers?


That is what my local recycling program specifies - Waste Management and Republic were the contractors.


Republic is my provider and they take them always have. I rinse my Jugs out with gas and put in in the tank of the Corolla.
 
^Taking whatever you put in the bin and dumping it into the truck does not mean it gets recycled. Do a little research. These days a lot of it will ultimately go into a landfill or be dumped in a third-world area. Most plastic containers that held anything "toxic" won't end up being recycled. You can put dog poop in your recycling bin and they'll "take" it. I'm afraid curbside recycling has become somewhat of a boondoggle in recent history.
 
Here in BC, our recycling centre accepts motor oil container and even used oil filter. There is a separate bin for the container and oil filter.
 
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