Why don’t people recycle their old oil?

[VNTS]

Around here in my area, Maine only AAP take used oil and they stopped for 6 months because some a$$$ put gas in with his oil.

The town will take it but limits it to 1 gal a year.

So I would guess the best way would be every store that sells it has to collect for free or the local goverment should have to collect it.

Caveat would be any town whos trash is incinerated, rebottle and put in trash for incineration

 

[SD26]

Originally Posted By: VNTS

So I would guess the best way would be every store that sells it has to collect for free or the local goverment should have to collect it.
More cost to consumers and taxpayers for collection.

Originally Posted By: VNTS

Caveat would be any town whos trash is incinerated, rebottle and put in trash for incineration

Towns can recycle it into their diesel fuel for use as a fuel after a little filtering.

 

[tom slick]

Originally Posted By: VNTS
The town will take it but limits it to 1 gal a year.


1 gallon? that's less then 1 oil change.

 

[Steve S]

This post is going on more than expected. I guess people donot have enough to do other than to worry about why people do not recycle their oil.

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: Kestas

Right now I have a natural gas furnace that activates automatically with a thermostat. I can't really use a shop-type oil burner for my home. I need a thermostatically controlled oil burner.



You could put a 24V solenoid valve on the oil line and then turn that on and off with a programmable temperature controller. Probably cost ~ $200 or so but simple to install.

I have a fuel oil furnace and would like to mix a bit of the used oil into that. What would be the best way to filter it to a good enough level to prevent nozzle clogging?

 

[Gary Allan]

Around here in my area, Maine only AAP take used oil and they stopped for 6 months because some a$$$ put gas in with his oil.

The town will take it but limits it to 1 gal a year.



So I would guess the best way would be every store that sells it has to collect for free or the local goverment should have to collect it.


More cost to consumers and taxpayers for collection.

Yes. Continuing to provide no legal or viable way to dispose of it will result in no environmental damage that will ...mean more cost to consumers and taxpayers in cleanup or other costs.

It's very unwise to make something illegal to dispose of ..and yet not assure that there is a readily available and viable way to legally dispose of it at the same time.

 

[lewdwig]

I bring my used oil to work and dump it in a used oil drum. We have to pay cents per gallon to get rid of it - used for "energy recovery" usually. If the oil gets isopropyl alcohol, acetone, mineral spirits, etc. added to it, it can become hazardous waste (used oil has it's own set of regulations) then it's big bucks to dispose of it.

Same thing for an oil changer, if he took used oil that has certain other things in it and dumped it in his tank, now he's got possibly 500+ gallons of hazardous waste to manifest for disposal with bunches of regulations to follow.

 

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted By: sunfire
A bit off topic but... are there places that recycle oil filters?


The question is not really OT. In my area, Kragen, Autozone, etc. take them.

 

[rationull]

I guess I'm pretty lucky where I am. I have in the past taken my used oil to auto parts stores for disposal but my trash pickup company provides containers for used oil and little baggies for used filters. There may be some kind of limit but I've never hit it.

Have to drive down to the dump for coolant, though.

 

[Mustang2008Z]

I looked at "America's Choice" motor oil. On the America's Choice website. It was about re-refining used oil that was supposed to equal the current specifications required by automobile manufacturers. I was surprised to note that there was a letter from Mercedes Benz which, sometimes, uses re-refined oil as factory fill. Ford's letter was not as enthusiastic about re-refined oil. To Ford there appears to be a wide variance in quality, and may affect the warranty.

I called "America's Choice" sales representative in Waco, Texas, and he said that they concentrate on government sales like local governments, county, state, and federal. They, also, concentrate on military sales. I talked to him about 4 months ago, and he said he would get back with me about offering the re-refined oil to the general public through retailers. As of this date, I have not heard back from him.

I know re-refined motor oil, as long as it meets specs of all automobile manaufacturers would go a long way to slow our dependency on middle east oil. According to a July,2006 EPA report, re-refined oil is not economically feasible as of that date, and would require subsidies because of the huge costs associated with the equipment to do the re-refining. EPA did state that as time goes on, that the basestocks for re-refiners will improve and thus the re-refined oil will be better than in 2006. Most of the old oil is being burned in oil burners for heat and other things, then being recycled for reuse. The report was done very quickly for Congress and could not be involved in a long-term study, which might be better. The europeans subsidize the re-refinery business to keep it going. Could we do the same here in the U.S.? I don't know.....

 

[Mustang2008Z]

The other day, I spoke with an oil disposer/recycler, he said that his company would put in the used oil tanks, "for free", and pay me about $1.00 or more per gallon collected,(fluctuates as the market goes up/down) as long as I had a "quick lube" place, or was involved in constant oil changes in a mechanic shop. I would have to be worth a cool million, and have ready assets to be able to become a franchise store. After reading so much about how the fast oil change "grease monkeys" mess things up in this forum. I am not sure I could do such a thing. Besides, my mattress is not full of millions of dollars for me to do such a wonderful thing as do a full service fast oil change place anyway.

 

[CrAlt]

I bring mine to the small gas station down the street that uses it to heat the garage.

AZ takes it but they want your name/number and i dont shop there. They also limit what you can bring.. screw that.

oil filters go in the trash. Coolant goes down the toilet.

 

[Mustang2008Z]

Here is a comment from John Cutshall from Safety-Kleen as to why re-refined oil is not available in retail stores. He sent this to me yesterday 1.2.2009:

The real problem with retail marketing of our products is that there is little demand.

With low demand, it is impossible to get any retail outlets to stock the products.

Any time somebody goes into a parts store for oil, they are either looking for a name brand or the cheapest quart there. We do not offer either product.

"If you talked with Safety-Kleen in Waco, they do not distribute the America's Choice lubricants.

We have distributors in Ft. Worth, Fredericksburg and Gonzales.

These distributors do supply our government customers or sell our products as housebrand.

I'm sorry that I can not offer much hope of retail availability, but over the last 10 years, the State of California has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to generate retail demand for rerefined lubricants with little success.

With the economy down and State budgets being in the red, there will not be any support from those areas.

Thanks for your interest in our products."


Straight from Mr. Cutshall/Safety-Klean Regional Manager for Texas and the Western half of the U.S.

 

[Mustang2008Z]

EPA has a 2006 Report, hastily put together, to give to Congress.

In it it says that in order for re-refiners to make any money, that the U.S. Government (Taxpayers) would have to provide substantial subsidies like what happens in Europe, to keep the business alive. The only other use for the old oil is to burn it for heat or for possible manufacturing uses. There would need to be huge outlays of money and public support to get the recycled oil back into the public arena. Yes, it would save millions of gallons of oil and money, but public perception of using someone else's old oil, and not knowing if it is equivalent to API or SAE standards causes it to fail here in the U.S. We need to change our perception of using old oil, as long as it fits API Service Capabilities, and it just like "Virgin Oil." In my opinion, once the government gets involved, I feel like I have been cheated and lied to by local, state, and federal authorities about the consistency of re-refined oil....My opinion...

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Wal-Mart takes it in this area, but they're evil.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
I would have to be worth a cool million, and have ready assets to be able to become a franchise store.


This is why wealth needs help. You can't possibly make a living out of a franchise ..not for the money invested. That is, if you've got the money, you don't need the job that you're buying. This is why it requires wealthy people ..and they need help. Otherwise, why would they bother helping out the otherwise useless eaters??

Tempest will tell you.

 

[Kestas]

Good time to point that out, Gary. This is a very good example of why we need successful and wealthy people in our country. There are too many people who want to 'stick it' to the business people and chip away at their wealth with more taxes. I can only imagine this would drive them offshore to more lucrative investments.

 

[labman]

Let's face it, how many of us depend on some rich guy, or a bunch of them called stock holders, for a job?

 

[Samilcar]

I think a few people need their sarcasm gauges adjusted.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: labman
Let's face it, how many of us depend on some rich guy, or a bunch of them called stock holders, for a job?


Most of us. The rest have to work for the stupid Government (Local, county, state or Fed)

Then you work with a bunch of people who could care less about service or the job you do because you'll always have a job. So the ones who really care about what they do learn real quick to be like the others.

Don't ask me how I know....

Bill