Don't dump that oil

Photo: Contributed

The Salmon Arm Landfill facility has recently undergone improvements made by the BC Used Oil Management Association.

The not-for-profit group dedicated to the collection and recycling of lubricating oil, oil filters, oil containers, antifreeze and antifreeze containers in British Columbia, announced on Friday that it has continued to make significant improvements to its BC Used Oil Recycling Centres in order to provide British Columbians with an easy, free and eco-friendly way to dispose of these materials.

“We have been working diligently over the past year to improve our BC Used Oil Recycling Centres in order to make them easier for the public to drop off their oil and antifreeze for free,” said David Lawes, executive director, BC Used Oil Management Association. “We have also developed a marketing program that highlights the locations of these environmentally-friendly recycling centres.”

The new infrastructure at the Salmon Arm landfill will allow people to take back lubricating oil of any amount, oil filters, oil containers, antifreeze and antifreeze containers, free of charge.

The oil can then be refined and reused in the future.

If it is disposed of at a BC Used Oil Recycling Centre, it can be recovered and re-used.

Used oil can be re-refined into new lubricating oil and used as a fuel in pulp mills, cement plants and asphalt plants.
 
Used oil filters contain reusable scrap metal, which steel producers can reuse for metal products like rebar, nails and wire. Used antifreeze can be reprocessed to produce new automotive antifreeze. Plastic oil and antifreeze containers can be recycled into new oil containers, flowerpots, pipe, guardrails, and patio furniture.
 
Each year, approximately 50 million litres of oil and 3-million litres of antifreeze are collected and responsibly managed through the approximately 300 public collection facilities and over 4,000 generators across the province, which are managed by the BCUOMA program.