To recycle your used oil properly, take it to an oil change facility that accepts oil containers or a household waste facility. With over 1,000 oil recycling facilities across the UK, you’ll surely find one that can assist you.
The Recycling Process
Once your oil arrives at the processing plant, it undergoes several steps:
- Distillation and Chemical Pre-treatment: The oil is separated through distillation, and chemical pre-treatment breaks down the hydrocarbon chains, making it less viscous.
- Dehydration: The oil is dehydrated, allowing different minerals to be extracted more easily.
- Vacuum Distillation: This process separates minerals according to density, with gasoline recovered as refinery fuel.
- Further Distillation: Lube oil is separated and can be refined further for use as motor or lubricating oil.
The Importance of Recycling Used Oil
Currently, less than a third of all waste oil produced by motorists is recycled. This means around 13 million liters of waste oil are lost to the environment every year.
Interestingly, 1 gallon of used motor oil can provide about 2.5 quarts of lubricating base oil. It’s not just used oil from cars or trucks that can be re-refined; motor oil from motorcycles, boats, farm equipment, and lawnmowers can also be reused or re-refined.
Find Your Local Recycling Center
Ready to recycle your used oil? Here’s the link to our local recycling center, and yes, they accept used engine oil. By recycling your used oil, you’re helping to protect the environment and conserve valuable resources. Let’s make a difference together!
