In the following months Universal Lubricants, LLC will be providing a series of Lube talks on the subject of used oil. The goal is to help reduce or eliminate the obstacles to proper collection and disposal of do-it-yourselfer (DIYer) used oil.

Used oil is a valuable resource. Used oil can be re-refined as lubricating oil, used as clean fuel and reprocessed to create new lubricating oils. Recycling used oil saves this non-renewable resource for future use. One gallon of used oil can be re-refined into 2.5 quarts of new lubricating oil. It takes 42 gallons of crude oil to produce this same amount of new lubricating oil.

If used oil is improperly disposed of, the results can be catastrophic. Here are a few facts from the EPA and the state of Utah:

• The EPA estimates that 200 million gallons of used oil are dumped on the ground, tossed in the trash, and poured down storm sewers and drains every year.
• Just one gallon of used oil, the amount from a single small auto engine, has the potential to contaminate up to one million gallons of fresh water. That is a year's supply for 50 people.
• A single gallon of used oil will create an eight-acre oil slick.
• Used oil can be more of a problem then new oil because of the contaminants that used oil contains. These have been linked to bronchitis, impacts on human fetal development, lethal toxicity to plants and animals; and human cancers of the skin, lung, liver, bladder, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract.
• Used oil in surface water has the potential to harm wildlife by depleting the oxygen supply for fish and other aquatic life, and by hindering the ability of birds to fly.

If you would like to know more about this topic please contact a Universal Sales Representative or the technical service department within Universal Lubricants, LLC. Please check back next month for more on this topic.

As always, if you have any questions about our lubricants or your equipment applications, please feel free to callTechnical Services Dept. at 1-800-444-6457.

Universal Lubricants is a trademark of Universal Lubricants, Inc. and the Universal logo is a registered trademark.
All other trademarks are the property of the respective companies.
Telephone:  800-444-OILS Fax: (316) 832-0301