Spills of new oil going into the environment usually attract all the media attention with dramatic pictures and suggested rand fixes. But it is the millions of tiny spills from everyday use of oil that rarely get noticed and can add up to a very large, cumulative impact.
Trivial though each small amount of used oil may seem on its own, some can destroy thousands of liters of water, rob the environment of much of the biological oxygen of that volume of water, and dramatically alter ecosystem form, function, and aesthetics. That alone should be enough to stimulate widespread recycling of used oil, but there are other very important reasons why used oil recycling should be strongly encouraged.
Used oil can be easily produced by individuals, and it is also simple to dispose of improperly, making it a common source of environmental pollution for the majority of ordinary people. The majority of used oil is collected from passenger vehicles. This is expected since consumer-used oil accounts for the majority of the used oil consumed each year.
Used oil is distributed with increasing percentages of used mineral blasting oil, used hydraulic oil, and group oils, all shipped together by the solid waste district
