Oil disposal/oil change questions

[Z-Michigan]

Some mundane questions that I'm sure people here can help me on. Let me say that I do recycle used motor oil at places that collect it (most any quick-change place around here). I'm also told that they take used oil filters, so I'll be taking those in to the same place for disposal.

1) Do oil change places also take other lubricants, like gear oil (e.g. 75W-90), automatic transmission fluid, or tractor hydraulic fluid? For whoever does take it, should I keep each one separate or will they mix them all together anyway?

2) I can be a bit messy and use a whole bunch of paper towels in cleaning things up during and after an oil change. What is the best way to dispose of oil-soaked stuff? It seems I shouldn't put it in the regular trash, for the same reason I don't put oil in the trash. Best idea I've had is to save it and burn it, but that's slightly inconvenient. Comments?

3) Like most of you, I have a septic system. When I wash my hands/arms after doing an oil change and put some oil-soap combination into my septic system, do I need to worry about this damaging the system? (We're talking about hopefully a fraction of a pint each time.)

Thanks in advance.

[GeaugaDeere]

I used to take my oil to my in-laws Shell Station, but they just retired this past April. After servicing my JD2305, I took all the fluids and filters up to Wal-mart where they had me dump my hydro oil and engine oil into the same large receptacle. They had another bin for the oil filters, there must have been 1000 in there. I never really gave much thought to the oil soaked newspapers/paper towels, etc....would be nice if someone took those too.

[MikeD74T]

May not be the most politically correct method but I burn my filters in my woodstove then dispose of metal in recycling bin. Use the oil for kindling a pint or so at a time. I mix in a pint of diesel fuel per 2 gallons to light it easier. Make a hole in the ashes, pour in oil, light with a piece of paper, & pile on the logs. I keep the oil in a laundry detergent container that has the no drip measuring cap. I go thru about 15 gallons per year. Also occasionally use it to burn brush piles but am building more "rabbitats" than I used to. MikeD74T

[DieselPower]

1) Most will take any type oil, I do. It all burns in my waste oil heater. I just can't burn straight gear oil, I need to thin it with engine oil.

2) The trash can should be fine. Personally I use grease rags and get them cleaned by a cleaning/uniform service.

3) As long as it's not to much it shouldn't hurt the septic system. Oil does biodegrade over time. I actually add a bottle of oil eating bacteria to my septic tank once a year along with the normal bacteria additive. In 20 years of use the septic system is still working fine.

[mjncad]

I had a dickens of a time finding a place to take my used engine and hydraulic oil. Checker, et al wouldn't take it; neither would Jiffy Lube and their competitors. My last call was to my Deere dealer and they said they would take it with no problems. They burn it to heat the shop in winter, so they have a couple of large storage tanks.

[ctjstr]

Not sure about all areas, but where we are, we just called around until we found a re-cycler who would come get the oil. The only catch was we had to have at least 200 gallons, which doesn't take as long as you'd think. We mix everything together except the oil from our race bikes, which is diluted with nitromethane. For some reason, they want that separated, although they still take it.

[GeaugaDeere]

A couple of useful links:

EPA Wastes: Used Oil Management Program


Just type in motor oil and your zip, and this site should pull up some facilities that will take your oil/filter and may be able to answer more of your questions.

Used Motor Oil and Oil Filters » Earth 911

Good luck!

[Z-Michigan]

Thanks everyone, very helpful info and advice as usual.