Proper disposal of motor oil through the
county's recycling program can be accomplished through one of three means:
Used Motor Oil Recycling
The deluge of used oil which comes rushing out of a multitude of cars, boats, trucks, and even grass mowers is causing a major threat to our environment. In the United States, car owners who do their oil changes generate an estimated 400 million gallons of used motor oil annually. In Florida, more than 7 million gallons of used motor oil end up in our trash, soils and in storm water run off. In Pasco County where a large portion of our industry is auto-related, this becomes a very significant issue.
This program is essentially designed to provide "Do-It-Your-Selfer" households with a means by which they can have their used motor oil recycled. Households and businesses alike are forbidden from tossing their motor oil in the trash, dumping it on the grounds or in sewer systems, septic tanks, or any surface waters (ponds, lakes, rivers or streams) or even using motor oil to kill weeds. Disposing of motor oil using any of the methods mentioned above is considered a crime in the State of Florida. Thus it behooves all of us to properly dispose of our motor oil through the County's Motor Oil Recycling Program.
Proper disposal of motor oil through the
county's recycling program can be accomplished through one of three means:
Why recycle used motor oil?
Most of our drinking water comes from the Florida Aquifer. Due to its shallowness, this
aquifer has a great possibility of being contaminated with contaminants seeping through
from above grounds. One of the major threats to our shallow aquifer is derived from
indiscriminate dumping of used oil. For years we have heard the say "one gallon of
oil can contaminate one million gallons of drinking water".
It is also important to recycle motor oil for the simple reason that it takes 42 gallons of crude oil to produce 2.5 quarts of motor oil, while it takes one gallon of used oil to produce the same amount. Over the years we have been recycling an average of 15,000 to 17,000 gallons of used motor oil at the four County locations indicated above.
For more information please contact the
Environmental & HazWaste Programs Coordinator,
(727) 847-8041.