Disposing of Waste Motor Oil
Dave and Helen Damouth www.damouth.com
21 Sept. 2002 (revised,6/22/05)
Question: Could you give us advice on where you can get rid of waste oil? Is it hard to find someplace to take it?
Answer: Unfortunately, this is a local issue. It varies among the states and provinces and perhaps even varies by city or county. Thus, the best advice is to ask, where ever you happen to be. Campground managers of private campgrounds are often a good source of this type of local information. Attendants in public campgrounds may not have a clue.
Examples of local policies:
In Rochester, NY (and I think, statewide), almost any place that sells oil or changes oil is required to accept used oil. I sometimes took mine to a nearby KMart, and sometimes to a "Jiffy-Lube" kind of place down the street. KMart was clearly un-used to this. It was fun to see the look on the girl's face at the customer service counter when I set two grimy gallon jugs of used oil on her counter, told her what they were, and turned around and left before she could object. (the department manager in auto parts was the only person who actually knew that this was the correct procedure).
Warning - one time (in Rochester), I had a little dirty gasoline which I had used to clean something, and I dumped it in a jug along with the used oil. The attendant at the Jiffy-Lube sniffed this jug while pouring it into his big vat, and refused to accept it, explaining that it was illegal to mix it with his oil. I had to take this jug to the country hazardous waste site along with some old paint, insecticides, etc.. This required an appointment for a specific time, set up well in advance, and a written list itemizing the contents of each container.
After I changed oil in a campground on the coast in Newfoundland, I was carrying the used oil around in the back of the truck wondering what to do with it. On one of our frequent exploration drives, we drove down into one of the tiny fishing-boat harbors which have been built every few miles along the coast, and discovered a huge tank next to the dock labeled "used motor oil" - presumably for the benefit of the fishermen. We added our contribution and went on our way. Since then, we've found used oil receptacles at the small boat harbor docks in Seward Alaska.
In Livingston Texas, the campground had signs posted saying that oil had to be taken to a nearby county waste disposal site, and suggesting that we ask the office manager for directions.
In Arizona, an Escapees campground manager said that he had negotiated a special arrangement with the auto dealer across the highway to accept used oil from Escapees.
In Calgary, Alberta, I asked in the store where I was buying oil. They handed me a printed list of places in Calgary that would accept used oil. It included several firehouses and most of the Co-op gas stations.
At Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, The city has a central recycling center which accepts used oil.
In a remote area of Utah, I walked into a gas station across the road from the campground with my jug of used oil, and was invited to dump it in their tank. We've found this to be true in many states. Almost anyplace that repairs autos has a waste oil storage tank, and will be happy to have you dump your oil in their tank. (I suspect that they profitably sell this oil to a recycler, or to a business which burns the oil for heat, using special pollution-trapping furnaces.)
In another state, (can't remember where), I asked, and was told to throw it in the nearest trash can!
Another RVer said: "I take it to an oil recycling center. Here in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I use the city maintenance garage."
In California, an auto parts store manager recently told me that they are not required to accept used oil as long as they can provide a referral to another disposal site within 50 miles. I've found that most of the larger California auto parts stores and auto service facilities will accept used oil.
Colorado seems to have no uniform state-wide laws requiring oil sellers to accept used oil. But most large chains of repair shops and auto parts stores have a used oil storage tank and accept used oil from anyone who walks in (you are required to sign a log, with your name and address).
In general, if the campground office manager can't help, I suggest you call the county clerk's office for the county or municipality you are in, and ask what to do with the oil. Most counties should have some sort of hazardous waste officer to whom you will be referred. In bigger cities, there may be a listing for this person in the county listings in the white pages. Clerks at auto parts stores are also likely to know where to take used oil if they won't take it themselves.
As to transporting the oil: You can buy (at almost any auto parts store or the auto section of places like Wal-Mart) a plastic container which includes a big funnel to catch the oil as you drain it, and then can be closed tightly for storage of the oil until you can dump it. The one I use comfortably holds the 11 quarts of oil from my Dodge diesel. Some folks with large diesel motorhomes have complained that these containers will not hold the many gallons of oil from their rigs. One RVer reports that he uses the 10-gallon size of the "blue tote" bottle sold in RV stores for transporting sewage from the RV to a dump station. He also bought a quick-drain fitting to replace the standard drain plug. This fitting includes a quick-connect hose leading from the fitting, making it easy to drain the oil into any container without spillage or splatter.