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Drop-Off Sites There are over 60 FREE drop-off sites for motor oil recycling located throughout Pinellas County for citizens who change their own motor oil. The sites are hosted by private businesses concerned about the environment. Oil recyclers collect the used oil to be refined and reused. You can recycle used motor oil—not just from a car or truck—but also from a boat, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, or lawn mower.

Protect the Environment
Florida Administrative Code Chapter 62-710 regulates the collection and disposal of used oil. Pinellas County Code Chapter 58 prohibits dumping oil on the ground. When dumped on the ground, used oil soaks through the soil. It can contaminate the aquifer (an important source of drinking water for Pinellas and other counties) or run off into storm drains that flow into lakes, creeks, or even Tampa Bay. Used oil in any of these bodies of water can harm or kill fish, birds, and other wildlife. The motor oil from just one oil change can contaminate a million gallons of water!

Oil Changing Tips

• Avoid working on grass or dirt. Have ground cloths, rags, funnel, tools, oil pan, and a container ready.
• Store your used motor oil in the empty oil container from your last oil change or use a clean empty plastic container with a lid, such as a milk jug.
• Clearly label container as "used oil." Never mix used oil with any other liquids, including water. Oil recyclers cannot accept mixed automotive fluids.
• Take your container of used oil to a drop-off site.
  

Oil Recycling
Transporters vacuum the oil from the collection site storage containers into a tanker and deliver it to re-refiners, processors, or burners. Processors remove contaminants such as dirt, water, fuel, and additives from the used oil. They then blend the re-refined oil with a fresh additive to make the finished lubricant. Refiners can re-refine oil countless times, each time ensuring it meets the same stringent refining, compounding, and performance standards as "virgin" oil. Other uses for re-refined oil include using processed motor oil in industrial burners, mixing it with asphalt for repaving, or blending it for marine fuels. The American Petroleum Institute's (API) Engine Oil Licensing and Certification Program sets standards for recycling used oil into lubricating oils that meet the same specifications as virgin motor oil.

Oil facts

• 1 gallon of oil can pollute 1 million gallons of water.
• 1 gallon of used oil produces 2½ quarts of re-refined lubricating oil.
• Recycling used oil takes half as much energy as refining crude oil.
• Re-refined oil prices are competitive with virgin oil products.
• API approved re-refined oils meet warranty requirements for new automobiles.
• The United States Postal Service and National Park Service use re-refined oil in their vehicles.
• All the oil generated by do-it-yourself oil changers in America, if collected and re-refined, would provide enough motor oil to keep 50 million cars a year running.