Re-refining: A concept who's time has come. View video by clicking here. Hyrax Production's first professional commercial video. Made for client Evergreen oil, it is an informative and entertaining look at the importance of re-refining used motor oil. The video features animation as well as live video. An example of what Hyrax Productions can do for you. Due to You Tube time limits, a shortened version of the program is presented here.

Did you know used oil can be re-refined into base stock for lubricating oil? If you recycle just two gallons of used oil it can generate enough electricity to run the average household for almost 24 hours. *

Cars are an indispensable fact of life for most of us. So, too, are abundant and clean supplies of drinking water. What we do with the used oil from our cars plays an important role in balancing our desire for convenient transportation with our desire for a clean and healthy environment today and for future generations.

We are all familiar with recycling newspapers, aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles, but you may not be aware of the efforts of the petroleum industry and other groups to promote used motor oil recycling: providing convenient collection sites for the purpose of keeping used motor oil out of our waterways and ground water supplies and getting used oil into the recycling system.
Motor oil has value even after it has been drained from an engine. The oil you take to a collection center to be recycled saves energy. It can be reprocessed and used in furnaces for heat or in power plants to generate electricity for homes, schools, and businesses. It can also be sent to a refinery that specializes in processing used oil and re-refined into lubricating base oils that can be used to formulate engine oils meeting API specifications.

What can you do? If you change your own oil, be certain that you take it to a collection center for recycling. If you take your car to an automotive service outlet, you can be fairly certain that they recycle the oil that they change. But if you're not sure, ask.

Used motor oil that is collected by "do-it-yourselfers" is critical to the used oil recycling system. Next time you change your own oil, remember, you can make a difference by recycling the oil from your car, truck, motorcycle, boat, recreational vehicle or lawnmower. By dropping off your used motor oil today you help prevent pollution and conserve energy for a safer and healthier tomorrow.

Benefits
These days, it is relatively common for people to recycle paper, glass and metals (aluminum and steel). The infrastructure and services for this recycling activity are available and relatively well understood. However the recycling of petroleum products is less well known and sometimes confusing. Regulators and recycling agencies have effectively communicated with businesses the need for and benefits of recycling used oil but more can be done to communicate with individuals who work on their cars or trucks in the garage at home. These individuals generate significant quantities of used petroleum products that need to be recycled.

Many individuals who are unfamiliar with the importance of recycling used oil are unconsciously harming the environment by throwing it away with their normal garbage or emptying their used oil into storm drains. Such actions, especially emptying used oil into storm drains, can cause real harm to the environment. To put it into perspective, just one gallon of used oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of water.

Recycling your used motor oil keeps it out of our rivers, lakes, streams and even the ground water. In many cases, that means keeping it out of our drinking water, off our beaches, and away from wildlife. We all share the responsibility of protecting our environment and keeping our waters safe. Recycling used oil allows us to continue to enjoy what many of us take for granted every day – clean water.

Centers
Many service stations, repair facilities and quick lubes will accept used oil and used oil filters. Additionally, your local government or recycling coordinator may be able to identify curbside or other recycling programs in your area. The best way of locating a nearby collection center is to visit the web site www. Earth911.org. This web site allows you to search for collection centers by ZIP code. It also has information on recycling other items like batteries, electronics, and aluminum.

Uses
There are many practical uses for used motor oil. A primary use is to rerefine it into a base stock for lubricating oil. This process is very similar to the refining of crude oil. The result is that the rerefined oil is of as high a quality as a virgin oil product.

A secondary use of the used oil is to burn it for energy. Large industrial boilers can efficiently burn the used oil with minimum pollution. As a result some used oil is sent to power plants or cement kilns to be burned as fuel. On a smaller scale small quantities of used oil are burned in specially designed heaters to provide space heating for small businesses.

Recycled used oil probably touches your life every day without you even knowing it. As consumers, we all benefit from recycling used motor oil. From augmenting our oil supplies and helping to generate heat, to protecting the environment, recycling oil just makes good sense.
* American Petroleum Institute