AUTO
REPAIR & SERVICE FACILITIES :: USED MOTOR OIL
How do you want your
local creek, lake or river to look? Your favorite creek or pond could
become an oil covered mess.
This could happen in
your neighborhood because of someone improperly disposing of used
motor oil. Used motor oil poured on the ground or street will
ultimately enter the storm drain system and enter the nearest creek,
river or lake.
Many people change
the motor oil in their own car. Unfortunately, thousands of gallons of
this potentially toxic material are discarded in landfills, poured on
the street, dumped directly into the storm drain, left on someone
else's property, or poured on the ground. Discarding used motor oil in
these ways pollutes the environment and wastes a limited resource that
can be recycled.
Improper or illegal
dumping or discarding of used motor oil has the potential to cause a
variety of short and long term effects on our environment.
Some
adverse impacts are:
-
One quart of oil
can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of drinking water.
-
In our aquatic
environment, oil reduces the oxygen level, blocks sunlight, and
destroys plankton, algae and water insects.
-
Fish can be
smothered by oil coating their gills or become more sensitive to
diseases.
-
Toxic components
in used motor oil, such as lead, chromium, copper, and zinc, can
directly kill some plants and animals or become concentrated in
plant and animal tissue.
-
Concentrations of
toxic compounds in plant and animal tissues consumed by humans may
be toxic to them.
How
Do I Properly Dispose of Used Oil?
Used automotive
fluids are accepted at the
Environmental
Collection Center, 817-871-5257, located at 6400 Bridge Street,
Fort Worth, Texas.
Always call ahead to
make sure of any requirements, such as amount of oil accepted and
times of operation.
Used motor oil can be
reused. It can be reprocessed and used as a fuel oil or recycled motor
oil. When you don't recycle used motor oil, a limited natural resource
is wasted and the environment is harmed.
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