Top Practices to Avoid When Preparing Waste Oil for Recycling
ShareThe world is currently grappling with severe climatic changes. Therefore, every business — big or small — that handles oil-based components must do everything within their power to recycle their waste oil. Unfortunately, most auto shops and garages believe that the amount of waste oil they produce doesn't place any significant pressure on the environment. However, nothing could be further from the truth, especially today, given the steady increase in the number of garages. Therefore, if you own an auto shop, you must observe best practices when handling waste oil in preparation for recycling. However, very few garages know what to avoid in this process, and this shouldn't be the case. This article highlights the waste oil recycling practices that auto shops and garages must avoid at all costs.
Disposing of Original Containers
When you receive oil from your supplier, it is usually stored in containers and sealed as required. The containers are designed to store fresh oil safely. However, it is common for auto shops to throw away the containers once they have emptied them. In other cases, these containers are cleaned and sold off or recycled for other purposes. If you do this, then what will you use to store the used oil? If you do not keep the original storage containers, you will be tempted to pour away the oil in the septic system. Therefore, all garages must ensure that they keep the original containers safe for the storage of waste oil. The containers allow for easy pick up of waste oil by recycling service providers.
Mixing Different Waste Oils
Garages deal with different types of waste oil. These include lubricating oils, petrol and diesel, among others. All these oils have different chemical structures and properties. Therefore, if you are thinking about recycling the waste oil you produce in your garage, then the last thing you should do is mix all the waste oil in one storage place. The reason is that mixing waste oils makes it impossible to separate them during the recycling process. The next best alternative to dispose of this mixture is to burn it. Rather than mix waste oils, ensure that you store them in separate storage containers. This will make the recycling process manageable.
Storing Containers in the Open
Where do you store your waste oil containers as you wait for collection and further recycling? Most auto shops think that so long as the containers are adequately sealed, then it does not matter where you store waste oil. However, exposing waste oil drums in direct sunlight where temperatures can easily reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit further degrades the waste oil as it mixes with internal moisture. Consequently, it makes it difficult to recycle waste oil. If you do not have enough space on your property and you must store the drums outside, ensure you cover them adequately. A company like Wren Oil can tell you more.