August 31st's Tip
Disposing of Motor Oil: Planning on changing your own oil? A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water, so taking precaution to properly dispose of your oil is important. Used motor oil can be re-refined into base stock for lubricating oil, and refining the used automotive oil saves energy over refining crude oil.
Check with your local automotive center, they may take your used motor oil. Try Pep Boys or Jiffy Lube - I've never changed my own oil but I have heard they will take your used oil. Another option is to check with the town to see if their is a motor oil recycling option - there may be a recycling bin for just this purpose.
If you recycle just two gallons of used oil it can generate enough electricity to run the average household for almost 24 hours.
Still not sure what to do with the oil? Check Earth911.com for a local recycling center that will accept it.
Contribute
We are looking for reader submitted tips for Eco-Friendly Friday so we can share some even we may have not heard before. If you've got a unique or informative tip and want to contribute to Eco-Friendly Friday, shoot us an email. Be sure to include your URL if you want a link to your site included with your tip!
4 Responses
1
Toy Kitchen
August 14th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I used to change my oil when I was in my early twenties to save a couple bucks. It's actually quite easy. Funnel the oil back into the containers that had the new oil and take them to any oil change place and you can pay $2-$5 to have them dispose of it correctly.
2
Stefanie
August 14th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Toy Kitchen, thank you for letting us know! I was hoping someone would have some confirmation on where to bring it, so your comment was very helpful!
3
pays to live green
August 16th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
My father used to change my oil when I was back in high school and college and he would do the same method as Toy Kitchen described to dispose of the oil. I don't have the auto knowledge or time to change my own oil though.
4
Wilson Pon
August 17th, 2009 at 2:51 am
Stefanie, in my living place, there's a eco-green workshop, where they're recycling the old motor oils. Therefore, I always changed my vehicle's motor oil in the workshop. I think this type of workshop should be opened in every city!