&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste
Washington, DC 20460
Municipal Solid Waste
Task Force November 1988
EPA/530-SW-89-006
USED OIL RECYCLING
UPDATE FROM EPA
The EPA used oil recycling program is see-
ing more and more interest in used oil recy-
cling. In response to those states, counties,
and local groups that have expressed an inter-
est in setting up a community used oil recy-
cling program, EPA is developing a guide.
This guide will be available later in the winter.
To order copies of the first bulletin, which
includes an updated state contact list, addi-
tional copies of this bulletin, or the "how to"
manual, please contact the RCRA/Superfund
Hotline, at 1-800-424-9346 or write to The
Office of Solid Waste, Office of Program Man-
agement and Support, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S, W., Wash-
ington, DC 20460.
Articles included in this issue are:
|| Curbside Collection
H County Coordinators Meeting
in North Carolina
® Oil-Saver Packaging to
Increase Recycling
fp Educating Drivers * ,
® Washington State's Used Oil
Recycling Program
©> Straight from the Grankcase
CURBSIDE PICKUP: AN INNOVATIVE WAY
TO RECYCLE USED OIL
Many communities across
the country are collecting
used oil at the curb.
They include:
Birmingham, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Los Altos, California
Palo Alto, California
MilThitas, California
Santa Monica, California;
Sunnyvale, California
Minnesota Metropolitan Area;
Borough of Haddonfield,
New Jersey
Mount Olive, New Jersey
Hamburg, New York
Gary, North Carolina
Over 100 communities in Oregon
Columbia, Missouri
Because of its convenience, curbside col-
lection is a very effective way to secure high
homeowner participation in recycling wastes.
It is particularly advantageous for, a used oil re-
cycling program because it eliminates the need
to have drop-off sites, like service stations, in
the collection area. Curbside collection can
also decrease the problem of do-it-yourselfers
(DlYs) mixing used oil with other substances
because the program educates home owners
COLLECT WITH
REGULAR TRASH PICKUP
Pickup the used oil with the community's
regular curbside garbage collection by asking
citizens to separate the used oil from the trash
and place it at the curb in an unbreakable,
sealed container. Garbage trucks can be
fitted with racks to carry the containers left at
the curb or fitted with tanks into which the used
oil can be poured.
This method is being used in several areas.
One of the most successful programs is
Project ROSE (Recycled Oil Saves Energy)
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which began in 1978
(see March 1988 issue). Thirteen garbage
about how to handle used oil properly.
Because every community is different,
curbside collection programs, as well as all
other aspects of a used oil recycling pro-
gram, should be planned with the specific
community's needs in mind. There are
several types of curbside programs that
can fulfill the needs of different communi-
ties.
trucks have racks to carry the used oil to a
central location, where it is deposited in a
tank. The community was initially edu-
cated by distributing dopr-to-door notices
and briefing sanitation workers on the proper
handling of the oil. Project ROSE has used
press releases and public service an-
nouncements to maintain community par-
ticipation. There has been little problem
with contamination or spillage of the used
oil.
Contact Janet Graham, Project ROSE,
at (205) 348-4878 for more information.
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Collect With Other Reeyclables
Used oil can also be collected at the curb with other re-
cyclables, like newspaper, aluminum, and glass. Vehicles
designed to collect recyclables at the curb can easily be
modified to carry DIY used oil.
In Sunnyvale, California, citizens were concerned that
the estimated 434,000 gallons of used oil generated in that
city each year were being improperly disposed of. This
prompted city officials, in 1984, to include used oil in the
weekly curbside collection program of other recyclables.
The collection trucks, already used for newspaper, alumi-
num, and glass, were fitted with racks to hold the used oil
containers. The city now provides gallon jugs (plastic milk
jugs with labels and lids) that residents use to hold the used
oil they generate. When the used oil is collected from the
curb, a replacement jug is left for residents to use during
Collect at the Curb Several Times a Year
A community can plan to collect DlV used motor oil at
the curb on several specified days of the year. A service
organization or waste management company can handle
the collection. The program should be promoted, and the
community should be educated several weeks in advance.
To our knowledge, no one is participating in this type of
curbside used oil recycling at this time. If you know of a
community that is participating, please contact us.
thejiext oil change. The program was promoted by a kick-l
off event that included the Mayor changing her oil in front o|
City Hall, an appearance on the evening news, numerous
newspaper articles, information brochures distributed to
neighborhoods, posters in businesses that sell oil, and
inserts in water bills. The successful program collects 75 tc
120 gallons of used oil per day from the 28,000 homes
serviced by the program, totalling 27,139 gallons of used oil
for fiscal year 1987-1988. The program's high participation|
rate has been attributed in part to the fact that Sunnyvale
provided its residents with used oil containers and picked
up used oil regularly with other recyclables. : ','.''
For more information on Sunnyvale's program, contact
Richard Gurney at (408) 730-7277; :
Curbside recycling requires careful planning and thor-
ough public education, but the effort brings success. De-
pending on your particular community, you may want to
consider curbside collection in your area.
For further information on other curbside used oil recy-
cling programs in the United States, contact the RCRA/
Superfund Hotline to order "Review of Curbside Used Oil
Recycling Programs in the United States."
NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES MEET TO DISCUSS USED OIL
RECYCLING
Until this year, little was going on in North Carolina to
increase DIY used oil recycling, and the state did not have
the funds to set up a state-wide used oil recycling program.
The North Carolina Department of Human Resources,
together with the Governor's Waste Management Board
and the North Carolina County Commissioners Association,
sponsored a "Used Oil Collection Meeting." The meeting,
held on February 23,1988, was aimed at helping county
officials understand the used oil issue and find ways to
implement collection systems to solve the DIY dumping
problem. Representatives from 37 counties and other inter-
ested parties attended, and the speakers included repre-
sentatives from the federal and state governments, indus-
try, and interest groups. The participants discussed the im-
portance of used oil recycling, the EPA program to promote
recycling, the county government's role, used oil regula-
tions, legal liability issues, and ways to set up collection
programs. :
Since the meeting, many county representatives have
been working with North Carolina's Department of Human
Resources to set up used oil collection systems in their
areas and to educate and gain support of other county
leaders and local officials. AS an outgrowth of February's
meeting, several counties will soon be placing used oil
collection tanks at local landfills. Holding a meeting of this
type may be a good way to educate environmental groups
in your community or state about the need to promote DIY
used oil recycling.
For more information, contact Judy Lund, Department
of Human'Resources, at (919) 733-2178.
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-V , C
OIL SAVER CARTON
Working in the oil industry for many years, Dick SImms
sees the need to increase the amount of oil that is recycled
by DIYs. Researching DIY recycling attitudes, he con-
cluded thata simple and easy method of collecting used oil
at the time of oil change would greatly increase the number
of DIYs who return the used oil to the point of purchase or a
convenient collection site. For this reason, he designed
and patented a technique to package one-gallon Jugs of
virgin motor oil to make collection, storage, and transporta-
tion of DIY used motor oil convenient. The packaging is
advantageous because it provides the containers neces-
sary to collect and transport used oil and the information
needed to educate the public about the need to recycle
used oil.
The invention simply includes a conventional one-gallon
plastic jug of new oil, the amount generally used by DIY oil ~
changers, held within an open-faced cardboard container.
The cardboard container is to be placed underthe car to
collect the used oil as it drains from the crarjkcase. The
cardboard box will hold used motor oil for at least one hour
without leaking. The virgin oil is poured from the plastic jug
into the crankcase. The used oil, jn the cardboard con-
T tainer, is then poured into the reclosable jug that held the
virgin oil. The used oil can be conveniently transported to
the nearest collection center for recycling.
The inventor of this system would like to see oil manu-_
facturers package gallon, jugs with this cardboard shell
around them to reduce the amount of usedVil that contami-
nates our environment. - -
JThe invention greatly simplifies recycling by providing
the containers necessary to change and return the used oil
to a recyling collection site. Secondly, it can help to
reduce.mjxing of used oil with other wastes by providing
educational information and a resealabfe container to hold
'theoil, . " „ /
Several kits to collect DIY used oil for recycling are now
on the market. The kits now available must be purchased
separately from the virgin oil. They provide a convenient
system for collection and recycling as well as phone num-
bers of state used oil contacts to help DIY oil changes find
a locakiolfection center
For more information about the oil save/ carton, contact
DickSimmsat (407)636-3835.
EDUCATING THE AUTOMOBILE OWNER
Because oil maintenance is an integral part of automobile
driving and maintenance, an effective way to promote used oil
recycling" is to target automobile owners in education cam-
paigns. . " _
One of the" most successful community education and
interest-building techniques is to include information in a
pamphlet or brochure in automobile registration or license
renewal notices. As mentioned elsewhere in this bulletin,
Washington State found this technique to be the most suc-
cessful in increasing the number" of people who called the
recycling hotline to get information about locations for collect-
ing used oil.
Other ideas to educate automobile owners include;
0 Discussing used oil recycling in driver's
education and auto mechanics classes
0 Incorporating information in the driver's
' " education handbook and auto
'_ - ~ - maintenance manuals
Q Including a question on used oil recycling
in the examination for obtaining a driver's
license
The states of Maryland and Virginia and the District of
Columbia have also used some of these techniques to edu-
cate automobile drivers. -
"" To initiate this type of education in your area, contact your
State Department of Transportation, State Motor Vehicle,
Administration, local school systems that offer driver educa-
tion programs, or your local American Automobile Association
(AAA) chapter. __ -
Washington State Launches Innovative Used Oil Programs
Washington recycled 21% more used oil in 1987 than in
1986. This success is attributed to increased public aware-
ness along with flexible and innovative problem solving.
Washington is implementing an awareness campaign to
promote the proper recycling of used oil and is actively
executing creative solutions to specific used oifdisposal
problems. - -
Washington State's awarenessjcampaign, to encourage
the recycling of DIY used oil, is the result of the Used Auto-
motive Oil Recycling Act of 1983. This state law requires
sellers of 100 gallons or more of oil per year to post signs
on used oil recycling and to identify the nearest oil collec-
tion center.
The Department of Ecology (Ecology) began the cam-
paign In the fall of 1987 and is planning to ho|dAsimilar
; " " - * *
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education campaigns every fall. Ecology developed and
disseminated information brochures and posters to edu-
cate the public about the proper way to handle used oil.
Ecology sent display materials to more than 10,000 retail-
ers selling over 100 gallons of oil per year and has decals
and signs available for collectors to post on or over their
used oil tanks. Articles about used oil recycling were re-
leased in newsletters, newspapers, magazines, and trade
Journals, and public service announcements were made on
radio and television. Washington's educational program
emphasizes the protection of water quality through proper
handling of used oil. Also, all of the information addresses
the need to keep used oil free from other wastes.
The state maintains a toll-free Recycling Hotline to
provide the public with information about haulers and col-
lection locations, which are mostly service stations, transfer
stations, and landfills. The number of calls received by the
hotline concerning used oil went from 25,000 in 1986 to
45,000 in 1987. In the first 6 months of 1988, the hotline
recieved 46,000 calls concerning used oil. Ecology saw
the largest increase in calls requesting information about
collection locations after sending notices about used oil
recycling in the Department of Licensing's license renewal
forms.
Along with the awareness campaign, Washington's used
oil program Is providing creative solutions to used oil
disposal problems specific to the state. This type of flexibil-
ity and innovation is necessary to ensure a successful used
oil recycling program. Two of these most notable projects
are discussed here.
The Washington Department of Ecology identified used
oil and other wastes; dumped into storm drains going
directly to the nearest waterway as a major environmental
problem In the area. Of the more than 4.5 million gallons of
used oi! dumped in Washington every year, it is estimated
that more than 2 million gallons end up in Puget Sound. In
an effort to stop individuals from improperly disposing of
used oil into storm drains, the Department of Ecology,
aided by the Department of Fisheries, has developed an
education campaign to eliminate these wastes from storm
drains and the streams and bodies of water into which
storm drains flow. The campaign includes a stencil de-
signed to print a message next to drains that states "Dump
No Waste, Drains to Stream."
Groups from school systems to fishing clubs have been
using the stencil to print the message next to storm drains
all over the state.
'.DUMP NO WASTE
DHAIKS TO "STREAM:'
Another problem facing Washington concerned DIY
used motor oil from boaters in Puget Sound's Port of
Seattle. Several years ago, the Port of Seattle installed
used oil collection tanks at the city marina to reduce
contamination of the water. Boat owners utilized the tanks,
but difficulties were encountered in the program when
other materials, such as paint thinners and cleaning fluids,
were found in the oil. In an effort to keep used oil free of
contaminating substances, the Port of Seattle:
(|p Organized a separate permanent! facility for the
collection of chemical wastes, such as chlorinated
solvents, paint, gas, and batteries.
||) Educates boat owners through mailings, marina
newsletters, and flyers to handle their wastes
separately.
Since the implementation of this separate collection sys-
tem for non-used oil wastes, the Port of Seattle has not
reported any further contamination problems.
Washington's success in significantly increasing used oil
recycling is attributed to public education and creative
problem solving.
For more information contact Rhonda Hunter at
Washington's Department of Ecology, (206)-459-6356.
STRAIGHT FROM THE CRANKCASE
The State of Virginia recycled 327,000 gallons of DIY used oil last year, which was collected
at the 527 collection stations. The state recently launched a public education campaign
featuring Dave Butz of the Washington Redskins as spokesman.
Michigan's used oil recycling program, sponsored by West Michigan Environmental Action
Council (WMEAC), has 62 counties participating actively in the program. One million gallons
of DIY used oil was recycled last year.
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