Safety Tips For Recycling Your Oil
1. Prepare your vehicle
Always change the oil in your vehicle in a well ventilated area, and on some kind of impervious flooring (e.g., sealed concrete). Warm the engine briefly, turn it off (leaving in gear), put the hand brake on and block the wheels. While you need to ensure the engine is not too hot, it's best to drain the oil when it's warm to so that all the oil flows out smoothly and quickly.
2. Drain the oil
Remove the drain plug on the bottom of the engine's oil pan and allow the oil to drain from your car into a suitable container such as a drip pan. The pan should be big enough to hold double the volume of oil in the engine's sump.
Once the oil has slowed to an intermittent drip, replace the drain plug and carefully move the oil pan. Soak up any drips immediately with a paper towel.
3. Add new oil
Add the new oil. Although most cars take four to five litres, always check your owner's manual for the exact amount and recommended grade. Do not overfill.
With the hand brake still on and the vehicle now in neutral or park, and in a well ventilated area, start the engine. The oil pressure light may come on, but should go out in a few seconds. Once it does, allow the engine to run for a few minutes, then turn off the engine and check the oil level. Also check around the oil filter and drain plug for leaks.
4. Transferring dirty oil
Make sure you have a suitable container on hand to pour the oil into. It should be a clean container with a lid that screws on tightly. Do not use containers that once contained bleach, cleaners or other car fluids such as antifreeze as they contain residues that contaminate the oil. For safety, do not use food containers.
Use a funnel to transfer the oil from the drip tray into the bottle. Don't rinse the residual oil down the drain - pour as much as you can through the funnel and save the pan for your next oil change.
5. Storing your oil
Write down the date and mileage so you know when your next change is due.
Clearly label the container, and keep out of reach of children and pets until you can take it to your local used oil collection facility.
6. Your local used oil collection facility
Some facilities will decant your oil for you but if the facility is unmanned, make sure you familiarise yourself with the facility. Open the lid to the draining grate and empty your oil container, ensuring you don't spill any oil. Leave your container upside down on the grate for a couple of minutes to ensure all oil is emptied. Remove your container and close the lid to the grate. Dispose of your container appropriately in the bin provided next to the facility. The containers can be recycled and some facilities participate in this scheme.
7. Summary
By appropriately recycling your oil you are keeping it out of your drinking water, out of waterways, and away from marine and wildlife. Also remember that used motor oil is a valuable resource which can be re-refined into lubricants, processed into fuel oils and used as raw materials for the refining and petrochemical industries.
So next time you change your motor oil, do your bit to help minimise contamination our soil and our waterways. Extract it, put it in a container, and take it to a collection facility as soon as you can. |
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