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f Managing Used Oil: Advice for Small Businesses I Common Wastes&Materials I US EPA Page 3 of 6 used as a base stock for new lubricating oil. Re-refining prolongs the life of the oil resource indefinitely. This form of recycling is the preferred option because it closes the recycling loop by reusing the oil to make the same product that it was when it started out, and therefore uses less energy and less virgin oil. • Processed and burned for energy recovery, which involves removing water and particulates so that used oil can be burned as fuel to generate heat or to power industrial operations. This form of recycling is not as preferable as methods that reuse the material because it only enables the oil to be reused once. Nonetheless, valuable energy is provided (about the same as provided by normal heating oil). Recycling Used Oil Is Good for the Environment and the Economy- Here's Proof • Re-refining used oil takes only about one-third the energy of refining crude oil to lubricant quality. • It takes 42 gallons of crude oil, but only one gallon of used oil, to produce 2 1/z quarts of new, high-quality lubricating oil. • One gallon of used oil processed for fuel contains about 140,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs) of energy. Does My Business Handle Used Oil? The following paragraphs describe different types of businesses that handle used oil. • Generators are businesses that handle used oil through commercial or industrial operations or from the maintenance of vehicles and equipment. Generators are the largest segment of the used oil industry. Examples of common generators are car repair shops, service stations, quick lube shops, government motor pools, grocery stores, metal working industries, and boat marinas. Farmers who produce less than an average of 25 gallons of used oil per month are excluded from generator status. Individuals who generate used oil through the maintenance of their personal vehicles and equipment are not subject to regulation under the used oil management standards. • Collection centers and aggregation points are facilities that accept small amounts of used oil and store it until enough is collected to ship it elsewhere for recycling. Collection centers typically accept used oil from multiple sources that include both businesses and individuals. Aggregation points collect oil only from places run by the same owner or operator and from individuals. • Transporters are companies that pick up used oil from all sources and deliver it to re-refiners, processors, or burners. Transfer facilities include any structure or area where used oil is held for longer than 24 hours, but not longer than 35 days. Examples of transfer facilities are loading docks and parking areas. • Re-refiners and processors are facilities that blend or remove impurities from used oil so that it can be burned for energy recovery or reused. Included in this category are re-refiners who process used oil so that it can be reused in a new product such as a lubricant and recycled again and again. EPA's management standards primarily focus on this group of used oil handlers. ■ Burners burn used oil for energy recovery in boilers, industrial furnaces, or in hazardous waste incinerators. • Marketers are handlers who either a) direct shipments of used oil to be burned as fuel In regulated devices or, b) claim that certain EPA specifications are met for used oil to be burned for energy recovery in devices that are not regulated. They also sometimes help move shipments of used oil to burners. By definition, marketers must also fall into at least one of the above categories. What Standards Should My Business Follow? If your business generates or handles used oil, there are certain good housekeeping practices that you must follow. These required practices, called "management standards," were http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/usedoil.htm 6/27/2012