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Recycle Your Used Motor Oil!

How do I recycle oil?

  1. Remove the used oil from your vehicle. Do not spill any on the ground.
  2. Collect the oil in a clean plastic container with a tight lid such as a milk jug. You can also purchase a house reusable oil pan/container from most local merchants that sell oil.
  3. Do not contaminate the oil by storing it in old paint cans and other metal containers, or in plastic bottles that once contained antifreeze, gasoline, solvents, bleach, or other cleaners. And always label it “Used Oil” and keep out of reach of children and pets.

Recycle the oil by bringing it to one of the local businesses that have generously agreed to accept used motor oil and other automotive products AT NO CHARGE from Do- It -Yourselfers in our area.

Sixty percent of motorists in this country change their own motor oil, yet only 10% of Do-It-Yourselfers recycle their oil. That translates to 200 million gallons of DIYer used motor oil being improperly disposed of each year. (Compare with the 10 million gallons of oil spilled on the Alaskan coast from the Exxon Valdez.) So where does it all go?

Unfortunately, much of this country’s used oil ends up in landfills, backyards, sewers, or storm drains. In fact, the EPA estimates that the largest single source of oil pollution harming our nation’s waters is from Do- It -Yourselfers. Used motor oil from a single oil change can ruin a million gallons of fresh water—a year’s supply for 50 people. These actions can pollute our waterways and groundwater and contaminate our drinking water. What’s more, it is illegal for residents to dispose of used oil in Colorado’s landfills, on the ground, or in our waterways.

Used motor oil can be reprocessed into fuel for furnaces, power plants and manufacturing facilities to provide heat and energy. The City of Durango and La Plata County both use their used fleet oil in waste oil burners that heat their maintenance shops.

The Crude Facts: