Power to the Peeples is an exclusive Earth 911 series written by Bob Peeples, our resident chemical engineer and Program Manager of Earth911’s sister site Beaches911. Bob combines his extensive knowledge of the environment and how things work with an off-the-cuff sense of humor.

So there’s a little known regulation set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency that used motor oil containing more than 1,000 parts per million (ppm) of halogen (mainly the elements chlorine and fluorine) is considered hazardous waste.

Taking this rule a step further, the EPA will increase the maximum halogen content to 4,000 ppm if there’s documentation that the chlorine source originated from other than waste halogenated solvents.

EPA calls this the “rebuttable presumption;” the used oil generator rebuts the idea that halogens came from waste solvent contamination because they served a purpose in the original oil. Therefore the oil wouldn’t represent a significant health issue in various used oil management options.

Driving the Logic

• If oil is listed as hazardous waste, it can’t be recycled because anything “derived from” hazardous waste is also hazardous waste (regardless if any actual hazards are present).
• These halogens could come from many places in your car such as gear lube or after-market additives (that help lubricate your car parts), which are not hazardous.
• Preventing used oil from being recycled goes directly against EPA’s core mission and values to protect and maximize environmental resources.

To compromise with eco-lobbyists who wanted all oil listed as hazardous waste (regardless of halogen content), the EPA created a special distinction for used oil, requiring chemical testing before the oil could be sent off for re-refining, re-use as a “normal” fuel (energy recovery), or processing as a hazardous waste (hence the 1,000/4,000 ppm halogen limit rule). A handful of other contaminants are also considered to determine the waste status of the oil.

Keep in mind, the EPA has completed substantive risk analyses that show the burning of used oils with up to 4,000 ppm of halogens can be done without increasing health/environmental risks over the burning of “virgin” fuel oils. Burning this used oil also saves the energy and environmental impact of making “virgin” oil to burn.

Check Engine Light

On the surface, I see a couple of things wrong with this rule:

1. At detectable limits, addition of hazardous ingredients will make any other substance “hazardous,” so why does used oil get leeway (think about sewage; a drop of sewage in 100 gallons of drinking water makes 100 gallons of sewage)? No other such hazardous waste has a rebuttable presumption.
2. Instead of treating any oil with halogens as hazardous, we chose a number to define hazardous and non-hazardous, and anything hazardous gets incinerated.

Crossing the Finish Line

The important thing to realize is that recovering energy from or recycling your motor oil is always a better option than improperly disposing of it, such as pouring it down the drain. I wish we didn’t have to presume when it comes to what is considered hazardous, but the most important thing is to not contribute to the problem.

One option is to keep a separate pan for catching used oil. There’s nothing wrong with cleaning up your car’s belly a bit while you’re down there, but many household cleaners have chlorine in them. Using the same pan to drain oil and clean your engine is a great way to add halogens to your batch. So keep the oil and solvent catch pans separate—and be sure to take both to proper collection centers. Find these disposal locations using Earth 911.

Bob Peeples is Program Manager for Earth 911’s sister site, Beaches911.com