Recycle Used Oil to Help Protect the Environment

Next time you find yourself thinking about what you can do for the environment whether it is recycling, planting a tree, turning off lights when you’re not in a room, consider taking another small step to making a big change — take your vehicle to a fast lube center for its next oil change. Going green with your car isn’t just about fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, and hybrid automobiles. It’s about keeping your maintenance eco-friendly too. By visiting a fast lube center you can protect the environment and the water you drink.

If you change your own motor oil, what do you do with the used oil? Pouring it down the drain or dumping it on the ground or in the trash may not seem like a problem, but these disposal methods allow the oil to seep into the ground water. Four pints of waste oil can ruin 1 million gallons of water, which is a year's supply for 50 people, according to the Automotive Oil Change Association.

Ground water is the water that soaks into the soil from rain or other precipitation and moves downward to fill cracks and other openings in beds of rocks and sand and is tapped through wells. Almost half of the U.S. population relies on groundwater for their drinking water supply and the United States uses 83.3 billion gallons per day of fresh ground water, so protecting it is vital.

Taking your car to your local fast lube center will help protect the ground water. If you bring your car to a fast lube center for an oil change, the used oil from your car will be properly stored and recycled. If you do change your oil yourself, most fast lube centers also accept used oil from do-it-yourselfers. Either way, you are doing your part to keep used oil out of drains and landfills so our drinking water supply will be cleaner and safer to drink.

Two organizations that promote the protection of ground water, the Automotive Oil Change Association and the National Ground Water Association, work year-round to raise awareness about the importance of properly disposing of used oil and other waste products. Taking your car or even your used oil to a fast lube center is a small step to further the protection of ground water.

"By visiting your local fast lube center you will be protecting your vehicle and doing your part to protect the environment at the same time," states Steve Christie, Executive Director of the Automotive Oil Change Association.

To find a local AOCA member fast lube center, go to AOCA and click on "Find a Member Lube Center."

For more information about protecting ground water, visit NGWA.

Source: Automotive Oil Change Association