ENVIRONMENT WATCH : Foil Oil
Many do-it-yourselfers will use this long holiday weekend to catch up on chores around the house. Those who decide to change the oil in their automobile will no doubt be pleased to discover that they are now eligible for a small reward for disposing of their used oil responsibly.
The City of Los Angeles, the American Oceans Campaign and Unocal Corp. this week kicked off an 18-month campaign to encourage residents to recycle motor oil.
Funded by a $1.1-million grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the city’s used motor oil recycling program provides oil changers in the Los Angeles area with recycling centers at 42 Unocal 76 stations.
Customers may take the oil to participating stations for a rebate of four cents per quart or 16 cents per gallon. It must not be contaminated with other chemical products. Call (800) 98 TOXIC to learn the location of the nearest participating station.
A quart of used motor oil hardly seems like a major waste problem. But multiplied by millions, it is. The city Board of Public Works estimates that every year up to 8 million gallons of used motor oil are poured down storm drains and flushed into the ocean or dumped into the ground, threatening underground water supplies.
The recycling program gives residents a convenient alternative to improperly dumping this potentially hazardous waste product, and one that encourages recycling. The state program also helps fund re-refining of the motor oil collected. A good deal all around.
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