Disposing of used oil

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Im sure this has been discussed before but where do you take or what do yall do with your used oil. I been taking mine to a guy for years at his mechanic shop and he used it in an oil burning heater. His wife has been sick and he is not around for now and I need to get rid of about 30 gallons.
 
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A shop down the road from me has a clean burn furnace, and is very appreciative to accept my used motor oil to use to heat their shop. Sure beats having to go to the auto parts store and take the dirty jugs home with me.
 
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30 gallons?wow..

I normally take mine to one of the chain parts stores around here after each change, but we're talking a max of 15qts, depending on how many cars i do for friends/family...

at one point my brother had a couple 5gal pails full in his garage, and found out his local wally would take 5 gal/week max...
ask around at some local parts stores?...

My Dad's Uncle filled his lawn roller with used oil instead of water... of course this was 20+ years ago...
 
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Originally Posted By: earlyre
My Dad's Uncle filled his lawn roller with used oil instead of water... of course this was 20+ years ago...

When I was a boy, one of my jobs was to paint our grey wood picket fence with used sump oil after my uncle did an oil change. No termites in that sucker.
 
I usually take mine to Auto Zone. They will take 5 gallons at a time. I think they're supposed to keep a log of who is dropping off oil and how much, but when I go in carrying a 5 gallon pail they just ask "You know where to dump it?" I say "yep" and go back to the tank and dump it.
 
Theoretically any retailer in California that sells motor oil is supposed to collect it regardless of where it's from, or at least that used to be the case. Mostly this means auto parts stores or auto repair shops, but theoretically it includes places that barely sell oil like supermarkets or convenience stores. Maybe even self-serve gas stations. There are lists of certified oil collection places. We have a fee on new motor oil that goes to paying for some of the costs of used oil collection.

I typically take it to one nearby city's recycling center. They usually have at least one 55 gallon drum with capacity, although occasionally one overflows before an employee seals it and puts another one in service. It works a bit better than their previous setup, which was a single used oil tank that would sometimes overflow and had to be taken out of service. This place is pretty convenient too, since they have collection of old fluorescent bulbs, all sorts of batteries, etc. They also take cans, bottles, paper, although they don't pay for any of that. Maybe 30 years ago they did. I distinctly remember they paid for used motor oil. I do think they get paid for the recycled materials, but for the most part people just want to get rid of it.

Another option is one of my county's hazardous waste collection facilities. I think they might be able to take up to 15 gallons of motor oil at a time from a private resident for free. They charge businesses though. They also take a lot of hazardous wastes. I've dumped off used coolant as well as my oil soaked paper towels and drop cloth that I use during oil changes. They'll take lots of things, including stale fuel, pesticides, and even asbestos. I remember the last time I tried it I was greeted by a county worker wearing a Tyvek hazmat suit. Before they opened my local facility, the county only had a single facility. They would (and occasionally still do) have hazardous waste pickup events in a large business's parking lot. I made an appointment once to get rid of some coolant. I also had an unopened case of motor oil in my trunk, and they joked if I wanted them to take that.
 
Try this: http://search.earth911.com/?what=Automotive&where=39208&list_filter=all&max_distance=100
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Auto Parts store. Usually not a long wait. In a county where I have a home, at several locations once a year as part of an initiative to get people to turn in used oil filters for proper disposal, the county will be at a auto parts store, give you a 10 qt or so oil pail, nice sized oil drain container as well as up to 3 free oil filters when you turn in the same number used ones. We hit up several events during the year which supplies a good portion of our personal vehicle filter needs. The additional pails and pans are given to friends to help them recycle their oil.
 
Our town's recycling centre has a receptacle for used oil. They charge a nominal fee (25 cents per gallon) which I'm more than happy to pay for in order to have the convenience.
 
Originally Posted By: SR5
Originally Posted By: earlyre
My Dad's Uncle filled his lawn roller with used oil instead of water... of course this was 20+ years ago...

When I was a boy, one of my jobs was to paint our grey wood picket fence with used sump oil after my uncle did an oil change. No termites in that sucker.


My dad let us spray used motor oil on the driveway to keep the dust down in the summer. He figured anything that washed off the driveway over time would help keep the skeeters and blackflies down.
 
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