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In conjunction with Atlantic Industrial Services, Inc. your business can become one of the over 12,000 community-based oil recycling locations provided by eithor your local government or private businesses such as auto parts stores or service stations. According to the Amercian Petroleum Institute (AP), over 600 million gallons of motor oil is purchased each year. Over half of this amount (345 million gallons) is purchased by the "do-it-yourself" vehicle owner (DIYers) - those that change their own oil. Unfortunately it is estimated only 1/2 of this oil is properly recycled. By providing this collection center this business has decided to make it easier for the public to recycle thus reducing pollutions in our environment.
Is Oil a Valuable Resource
oil originates from fossils and is a valuable resource both in its original form and as a recyclable substance. Oil can be reused and recycled through reconditioning, reprocessing and re-refining. These recycling efforts help to:
- Conserve natural resources
- Protect the environment
- reuse an existing resource
- Save energy
- Save money
In addition, used motor oil is a valuable energy resource. A large portin of the used motor oil collected is reprocessed into fuel that is burned in furnaces, turbines, power plants and manufacturing facilities to provide heat and electricity. To put this into perspective, two gallons of used motor oil can generate enough electricity to:
- Power the average home for one day
- Cook 48 meals in a microwave oven
- Blow-dry a person's hair at least 216 times
- Vacuum a house for 15 months
- Watch television for 7 1/2 days straight! (180 hours)
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What happens if oil is improperly
disposed of?
Proper recycling will ensure that used motor oil does not make its way into local surface and groundwater resources. Should oil get into the environment, it can quickly pollute large amounts of water. For instance, one gallon of motor oil can:
- Create an oil slick on surface water up to eight acres in size
- Contaminate one million gallons of freshwater. That is a year's supply of water for 50 people!
- Render a four-acre area of soil unusable for planting for decades
In addition, used oil is insoluble, slow to degrade, and very sticky which poses a health threat to humans, plants, animals and the environment.
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