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American Petroleum Institute's New Web Site Makes Motor Oil Recycling Easier

6 September 1999

American Petroleum Institute's New Web Site Makes Motor Oil Recycling Easier

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 -- The American Petroleum Institute (API)
has launched a new Web site, http://www.recycleoil.org, that will help protect
the environment by making it easier for America's millions of do-it-yourself
motor oil changers to find convenient locations to take their used motor oil
for recycling.
    API estimates that about half of all U.S. motorists change the oil in
their own vehicles -- cars, light trucks, motorcycles and boats -- and
research shows that they want to safely dispose of the used oil.  But many do-
it-yourselfers do not know where to take used oil for collecting and
recycling.  Unfortunately, if improperly disposed of, used oil may end up
migrating into groundwater where it potentially can contaminate streams,
rivers, lakes and oceans.
    "Do-it-yourselfers change their oil because it's economical and they take
pride in working on their own vehicles," said API President Red Cavaney.
"When motorists take their used oil to a collection site to be recycled, they
demonstrate their commitment to the environment, their community and the
future."
    "The new Web site quickly helps consumers find a used oil collection
center near their home," said Sally Gentille, API's Web editor.  "The site
also offers consumers guidance on changing their oil and disposing of it in an
environmentally responsible way," she said.
    "The information available on this new Web site should remove one of the
principal barriers to used oil recycling -- convenient information about used
oil collection locations," said Denise McCourt, marketing coordinator for
API's Downstream Industry Segment.  "The Web site also explains how used motor
oil finds a second life, and how to start up a collection program," she said
    Of the motor oil in cars and light trucks that is available for recycling,
between 65 and 75 percent -- more than 250 million gallons a year -- is
recycled, according to a new study soon to be released by API, Used Motor Oil
Recycling In The United States.  This includes oil collected for recycling by
service stations, fast lubes and other businesses that change consumers' oil.
    "The new Web site's main goal is to increase the percentage of 'do-it-
yourself' motor oil that is recycled," McCourt said.  "This protects the
environment, and recovers an important resource," she added.
    API's ongoing used oil program with its member companies, state and local
governments and, most recently, with the international Earth 911 recycling
organization, is informing Americans about the importance of recycling used
motor oil.  Some 12,000 API member-company collection sites and 14,000 others
accept used oil for recycling across the nation.
    Recycled motor oil has many important uses.  It can be re-refined into new
lubricants, reprocessed into other products like asphalt and chemicals, or
used as fuel for more energy.  Just one gallon of used motor oil can generate
enough electricity to run the average household for a day, cook 48 meals in a
microwave oven, blow dry hair 216 times, vacuum a house for 15 months, or run
a television set for 80 hours.