What Becomes of Your Recycled Motor Oil?

Years ago when backyard mechanics changed the oil on their own and their friends cars, they often just dumped the used oil in a corner of their yard or poured it down a sewer. This wasn’t necessarily malicious. It was just that a couple of generations ago, many didn’t understand the environmental impact used oil had on the planet. Oily film on our lakes and rivers can block sunlight and prevent oxygen from being produced. Oil in the soil virtually makes it unusable.

Even today, only about 60% of used motor oil is being properly recycled. While millions of gallons of motor oil is sold each year, that oil it is replacing is going SOMEWHERE. If it is not being recycled, it is likely damaging our planet.

If it IS being recycled, here are some of the products it is being used to create.

Motor Oil

By re-refining motor oil, it can be re-used for its original purpose. The recycling of used motor oil will remove any water, fuel, metals and other pollutants from the oil, and mix in the appropriate additives to make it useful as motor oil again.

Asphalt

Used motor oil is perfect to produce asphalt for our roadways and parking lots because it doesn’t have to be “pure” or perfectly clean to be used in this way. It also is good to know that worn asphalt that is scraped from our roads can also be recycled.

Heating

Used motor oil can be used as fuel for industrial boilers for industrial heating and even space heaters. Portable “Radiator” style heaters used for home use often use recycled oil.

Diesel Fuel

When used motor oil is re-refined and distilled properly it can be used in the production of diesel fuel for trucks and diesel powered engines and vehicles.

As problematic as used motor oil can be for the environment, it never loses its lubricating qualities. That means it can be recycled again and again, when done properly. This can be encouraging as long as we all make the effort to ensure our motor oil is being recycled.

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