Waste reduction fast facts: Oil
Garbage and recycling › Resources for schools › Fast facts about waste reduction › Oil
This resource is not exhaustive nor is it all-inclusive, but can be cited and dated from primary and secondary sources. To find out more about the methodology or accuracy, contact the referenced source.
Metro does not validate nor endorse any of these facts.
- Two hundred million gallons of used oil are improperly disposed of each year. –Environmental Protection Agency, “Municipal Solid Waste, Oil,” Last Updated, May, 17, 2005
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/oil.htm - Just one gallon of used oil has the potential to contaminate up to one million gallons of drinking water. –"The Importance of Recycling Motor Oil," Earth 911
- U.S. consumption of oil in 2008 was almost 300 billion gallons. To meet this demand, last year the U.S. produced over 75 billion gallons of crude oil and imported almost 198 billion gallons of crude oil and petroleum products. –US Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Basic Statistics
http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html - Extensive laboratory testing and field studies conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Postal Service and the EPA concluded re-refined oil is equivalent to virgin oil, passes all prescribed tests, and can even outperform virgin oil. –Environmental Protection Agency, “2000 Buy-Recycled Series: Vehicular Products,” EPA 530-F-00-016, 2000
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/usedoil.htm - It takes 42 gallons of crude oil, but only 1 gallon of used oil, to produce 2.5 quarts of new, high-quality lubricating oil. –Environmental Protection Agency, Managing Used Oil: Advice for Small Businesses
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/usedoil.htm - Re-refining used oil takes only about one-third the energy of refining crude oil to lubricant quality. –Environmental Protection Agency, “Managing Used Oil: Advice for Small Businesses,” EPA 530-F-96-004, 1996
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/usedoil.htm - Recycling just 2 gallons of used oil can generate enough electricity to run the average household for almost 24 hours. –American Petroleum Institute; Environmental Protection Agency, “Municipal Solid Waste, Oil,” Last Updated, May, 17, 2005
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/oil.htm#benefits - An estimated 380 million gallons of used oil are recycled each year. Recycled used oil can sometimes be used again for the same job or can take on a completely different task. For example, used motor oil can be re-refined and sold at the store as motor oil or processed for furnace fuel oil. -Environmental Protection Agency, Managing Used Oil: Advice for Small Businesses
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/usedoil.htm