Automotive Waste
The Recycle Depot takes clean, used oil and used oil filters. We also take clean used antifreeze. There are self-service bulking containers on the west side of the Depot building where customers can dump their used liquids. Do you have more than just a few gallons of used automotive liquids? Please call ahead: 574-935-8618.
Effects of Oil in the Environment
Nearly every household in the United States generates used motor oil. Automobiles produce over 600 million gallons of used oil annually. According to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, individuals toss over 200 million gallons of oil into the trash, spill it onto the ground, or pour it down drains and sewers each year. The catastrophic Exxon Valdez spill was small compared to the amount of oil dumped into backyards, ditches and farm fields by do-it-yourself oil changers.
Why is oil so dangerous?
During use, motor oil comes in contact with bearings, seals and other engine parts which could add heavy metals and other contaminants considered hazardous to humans, so improper disposal creates a real threat to human health. Used oil dumped onto the ground reduces soil productivity, contaminates groundwater and can poison fish and other wildlife.
Just one gallon of used motor oil can ruin a million gallons of fresh water, an entire year’s supply of drinking water for 50 people!
Recycling Oil
Recycling used motor oil decreases our dependency on natural resources and conserves energy. Three times more energy is used to process crude oil than to re-refine used oil. By recycling, the U.S. can save thousands of barrels of oil per day. It takes just one gallon of used oil, compared with 42 gallons of crude oil, to produce the same 2 ½ quarts of lubricating oil. As for quality, today’s re-refined oil products meet or exceed the same stringent performance standards that apply to virgin oil products.