Grants to Help Boost Oil Recycling Projects

Three cities and Ventura County have received state grants to promote motor oil recycling programs and other hazardous waste reduction plans.

Thousand Oaks, which runs the county’s most comprehensive oil recycling program, received the biggest grant: $34,000 from the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

The county will split a $31,000 grant with the city of Ojai. Camarillo won a $17,000 award, and Moorpark received nearly $8,500. “You’ll see centers for recycling oil popping up everywhere very shortly,” predicted Grahame Watts, Thousand Oaks’ recycling coordinator.

Thousand Oaks, which will use the grant mainly for public education, has collected 50,000 gallons of used motor oil in the last three years through its twice-monthly collection drives, Watts said. The city-sponsored recycling center is open the first Thursday and third Saturday of every month at the new municipal service yard on Rancho Conejo Boulevard.

Recycling experts in Moorpark and Camarillo said they would use the grants to promote certified drop-off points in or near their cities and to develop educational material.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board can certify local service stations as official motor oil recycling sites. Once certified, the stations can collect used motor oil and offer a 4-cent rebate for every quart that customers bring in to recycle.