What happens to used oil in other countries?

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We were talking about this at work today. I am curious myself. I imagine most of it is burned but wonder what happens to used coolant/anti freeze also.

Thank You
 
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Developed Nations have pretty good recycling systems and vigilence, but your question is very good in terms of 3rd world countries primarily because most of these places have their populations more concerned about health care, feeding themselves and their families and the impact of the improper disposal of used chemicals is not going to be on their top 50 concerns. IMHO.
 

53' Stude

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Developed Nations have pretty good recycling systems and vigilence, but your question is very good in terms of 3rd world countries primarily because most of these places have their populations more concerned about health care, feeding themselves and their families and the impact of the improper disposal of used chemicals is not going to be on their top 50 concerns. IMHO.
Very good info sir. Thank You 🇨🇦🇺🇸👍👍
 
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When I was in high school I used to dump the oil in a field next to our house. :eek:
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This is a good question. I would like to see some of the BITOG members that are from Europe chime in on this. I have heard that most of the EU countries have very strict recycling requirements for motor oil and such. Anyone know for sure?
 
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Back in the day (1960s and earlier) two garages in my home town in Saskatchewan poured used oil on the gravel roadways outside their buildings as a dust suppressant.

The organic portion of that motor oil eventually would be consumed by various life forms but there would have been lead in used oil in that era (from the tetra ethyl lead in fuel) which would be persistent.

I spent some time in the head office of a major oil company 25 years ago and they were most worried about metals contamination. One gas field produced a small amount of mercury along with the gas and (quite rightly) caused real concerns. The mercury was easily stripped out of the natural gas so it never reached consumers but it tended to accumulate here and there at the production sites. Not good for workers or the environment.
 
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They're still doing what we used to do. Spray it on dirt roads to help keep the dust down. We actually did far worse.

Remember the whole Times Beach, Missouri fiasco? They ended up having to demolish a whole town, because they sugar coated all the roads with Dioxin.
 

53' Stude

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They're still doing what we used to do. Spray it on dirt roads to help keep the dust down. We actually did far worse.

Remember the whole Times Beach, Missouri fiasco? They ended up having to demolish a whole town, because they sugar coated all the roads with Dioxin.
I always wondered what happened to that plant that supplied the idiot that sprayed it
 
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