Got a question to et all. Used Oil, reproclimation, is a fact. Used oil can be refined to be a virgin oil, according to experts. So why, does your local, limit your deposit to 3 or 5 gallons? with no 2 cents in your pocket. Fellow told me once, long ago, and far away, service stations were considered a reposidatory for used oil, and they were paid a few bucks for used oil. What happened to the refinery of used oil? It is not dead. Clue: Read your local, and then State wide atttempt at oil refinery, and realize not many, have tried. Your Mission. Ask why, local oil recovery, cannot be refined. Make them answer, in your language.

-- Have a question (for those who@hear.com), October 17, 2000

Answers

Ummm....I'm sure you have a point here but I'll be darned if I can figure it out.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), October 18, 2000.

Jim, the scenerio is simple. Once upon a time, anyone could turn used oil to a Service Station, no matter the amount. Truck drove up, loaded the used oil, and paid the station a few bucks. Truck drove away to the refinery, refined the oil, put it into a new can, everyone was happy. Read somewhere, that refined oil is virgin. Nowdays, "used oil" has become a curse word. The designated "collection points" have placed a limit on the number of quarts/gallons Mr. Joe Smow can drop off. Why? Read some texas city is the forerunner in reclycling oil, and they only have 120K citizens in the program. Texas is the Champion with only 120K residents? Something is wrong here. There must be at least 100 jillion shade tree mechanics who want to do the right thing, with used oil. The ball is in your court. Believe me or not, read everything you can, then decide.

-- Church Fan (hand@waver.com), October 18, 2000.

Church:

Thank you. At least your post was intelligble, unlike the original post.

I've been a "shade tree" mechanic for a long time and I've never ben able to drop off any amount of oil I wanted at any service station. Most stations always had a limit of 5 gallons and many stations wouldn't take oil at all. Now, at least in California, all stations are required to take used oil although most still have a limit per dropoff. According to the guy who owns the service station I do business with, the oil is taken to a recycling plant and used almost exclusively for the manufacturing of plastics. He says that the recycled oil can't meet the pollution requirements without costing as much as newly refined oil so no one offers recycled oil to the public any longer. Sounds like one of those unintended consequences we see so often from otherwise good deeds.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), October 19, 2000.

Jim, guess my family must be "older than dirt". One family member, remembers when they sold used oil to a company, for cash. Don't think they made up this story. Too honest, an individual. How ironic, we pay for an oil change, deposit our "used oil" with them, then they possibly sell the "used oil" to a refinery, or else dump the mess into some landfill. Which is it? If they take the used oil to a refinery, then it must have some value. Take your time to read up on the values of reclycled oil. It is an eye opener. Your Call....

-- Church Fan (hand@waver.com), October 19, 2000.

CF:

For general policy, I am sure that you are correct. I deposit all of my used oil at the local [free] recycle center. But I doubt that on an individual basis, I make much difference. On my land, everytime you go down more than 20 ft you hit oil seeps [that is what they call them]. In the case of the last pond, they had to plug with clay. It has worked. This is not Texas light crude but real heavy stuff. It must be leaking into the environment on a regular basis. Of course, if you go down further, you hit coal. High sulfur stuff. Release lots of sulfuric acid. Makes digging hard.

Best wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 19, 2000.

Jesus Christ! Zix, whatever! I am not talking about those who live in an environment, over which Mother Nature precludes taking necessary precautions, I am talking about the waste, some of us humans contribute to. Read up on the attempt (small) on oil recovery.

-- Church Fan (hand@waver.com), October 19, 2000.