Used Oil
Ohio’s used oil regulations found in Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3745-279 are the same as the federal used oil regulations found in 40 CFR part 279.
Used oil has its own set of regulations separate and apart from the hazardous waste regulations. Congress passed the Used Oil Recycling Act of 1980 as an amendment to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Under the used oil rules used oil is defined as petroleum based or synthetic oils that are used as lubricants, hydraulic fluid, heat transfer fluid (coolant), cutting fluid, buoyant or for some other similar purpose and become contaminated with physical and chemical impurities. Examples of used oil include: engine oils; lubricating oils; brake fluids; transmission fluids; insulating oils; metal cutting fluids; industrial process oils, compressor or refrigerant oils. Used oil does not include petroleum derived solvents used for cleaning or vegetable or animal oils and fats.
Used oil that is not managed safely can pose a threat to humans and the environment. Improperly disposing of used oil can also lead to contamination of drinking water, surface water, ground water and soils. The used oil regulations describe proper used oil management. Because used oil is a reusable resource, the regulations also promote used oil recycling. If your business generates, transports, burns, processes, re-refines or markets used oil, it is important that you understand and comply with the applicable used oil regulations found in Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3745-279.
REGISTERED USED OIL COLLECTION CENTERS IN PIKE COUNTY:
Used oil filters disposed of in landfills currently pose a significant threat to Ohio’s drinking water. A study done at the University of Iowa demonstrated that used oil contains varying amounts of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, barium, chromium, and arsenic. In addition used oil contains over 2-dozen known carcinogenic compounds. The good news is that used oil filters are 100% recyclable, from the oil trapped in the filter, to the metal filter canister, right down to the filter media.
Compaction and Draining Alone are not Enough
Draining an oil filter for 12 hours removes a little more than half of the oil that was present when the filter was removed from the car. Crushing an average mix of drained automobile oil filters further reduces the oil volume in the filters by an average of 88%. A typical drained and crushed oil filter retains 12% of it’s original oil, an average of 1 ounce. The oil remaining in only 32 crushed and drained oil filters is enough to contaminate 250,000 gallons of water.
Ohio residents purchased an estimated 16,600,000 oil filters in 1994. Even if all of those filters were crushed and drained, an estimated 130,000 gallons of used oil could still end up in Ohio landfills. Recycling of filters is an important step in reducing the amount of oil that is released into the environment.
Filters should be allowed to drain for a minimum of 4 hours. Ideally they should be drained overnight. Filters can be drained by placing them on a wire mesh and draining them into a receiving container.
If your business does a large volume of oil changes, consider the purchase of a press which will crush the filters into pucks approximately 1 inch high prior to transport to a recycling facility. This can both reduce the volume of the filters and storage and disposal costs, and increase the amount of oil recovered from the filter which can be sold for recycling.