It's easy to recycle used motor oil and
protect human health and the environ-
ment. Just follow these three steps when
you (or your parents) change the oil in
your car.
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2
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Remove. Do not
spill any oil on the
ground.
Contain. Put your
used oil in a clean
plastic container with
a tight lid. Never use
a container that once
contained household
chemicals, food, or
beverages. And, do
not mix the oil with
anything else, such as
paint, gasoline, solvents
cleaners, or antifreeze.
Recycle. Take used motor oil
to a service station, lube center, or auto-
motive store that collects used motor oil
for recycling, during posted
business hours. To find used
oil collection centers in your
area, call 1 800-CLEANUP
or visit
or look for used oil recycling
signs, or the oil drop symbol, in store
windows.
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Recycling your used motor
oil helps the environment,
saves energy, and protects
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Now that you have your driver's
license, you have a big responsibility—
not only for safely operating your car,
but also for protecting the environ-
ment. You probably know that you
should change your oil about every
3,000 miles. But did you ever wonder
what you should do with the used
motor oil after you remove it from your
car?
Motor oil has a life after it
has been in your car. It can
be cleaned and processed
to be reused as motor oil
or as a different product,
such as fuel for your
house. Reprocessed
motor oil also can be
used in power plants
to generate electricity
for homes, schools,
and businesses. It can
also be mixed with
asphalt for paving
streets and highways.
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Used oil is insoluble and can contain toxic
chemicals and heavy metals. It's slow to
degrade and sticks to everything from beach
sand to bird feathers, polluting drinking
water sources and harming humans, wildlife,
and aquatic life.
Despite these problems, people who change
their own motor oil—called "do-it-your-
selfers"—dispose of nearly 120 million gal-
lons of recyclable motor oil each year by
dumping it on the ground, pouring it down
storm drains, or putting it in trash cans. The
improper disposal of used motor oil from a
single oil change can contaminate a million
gallons of fresh water. That's a year's supply
of water for 50 people!
Purchase re-refined oil. When it's time for an oil
change, purchase re-refined oil or find a service
station that uses it.
Join or start a community used oil recycling
program. If your community has a used oil recy-
cling program, join it. If it doesn't, start one.
Order a copy of EPA's manual entitled "How To
Set Up a Local Program To Recycle Used Oil"
(Doc # EPA530-SW-89-039A) at
or
contact the RCRA Call Center toll-free at
1 800-424-9346 (703 412-9810 in the
Washington, DC area).
For more information on managing used motor
oil, visit EPA on the Web at .
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