ENGINE OIL - Where can I dispose of used engine oil safely???

[James H]

Hi Everyone,

 

I went to the local recycling centre and they require proof that you are a local resident. As a continuous cruiser I am not registered local and so I need a way of disposing safely of my used engine oil. Can anyone please advice me on this? 

Also would handy if I could use local recycling centres for recycling in general, as the CRT don't provide many recycling bins. 

 

Any advise is much appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

Jim.

[Tony Brooks]

I would ask any yard or marina operating hire boats. You may have to pay a nominal amount but they must have the facilities.

 

As for recycling, I more or less gave up. CaRT did have some recycling bins at various sites but from what I saw they were abused so not a lot of use for recycling. The contents probably all had to go to landfill/incineration.

 

It beats me, councils make it more and more difficult to dispose of rubbish and the complain about fly tipping. Regrettably I fear its down to the regular cutting/freezing of the government block grant and the central government imposed restrictions on raising council tax.  many seem to be able to collect money for disposing of things like rubble etc. but are incapable of working out a way of charging for non-residents to pay to get rid of things like waste oil that they may well get paid for rather than have to pay to take away.

[andyberg]

Pour it down the local CRT elsan ...Hopefully it'll lubricate & shift the composting bog contents blocking it! 

[GUMPY]

As you are traveling round the system why not try another recycling depot, most of them do not  demand ID ?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

20 minutes ago, James H said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I went to the local recycling centre and they require proof that you are a local resident. As a continuous cruiser I am not registered local and so I need a way of disposing safely of my used engine oil. Can anyone please advice me on this? 

Also would handy if I could use local recycling centres for recycling in general, as the CRT don't provide many recycling bins. 

 

Any advise is much appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

Jim.

Different local authorities have different proof of residence requirements from none at all, to needing to present copies of local birth certificates for yourself and all ancestors for four generations. A little research will hopefully come up with a more easy going authority with a municipal tip recycling centre within easy reach. Then continuously cruise over!

Jen

[NB Alnwick]

1 minute ago, andyberg said:

Pour it down the local CRT elsan ...Hopefully it'll lubricate & shift the composting bog contents blocking it! 

 

I know this was intended as a joke but sadly, this has happened more than once at Cropredy!  I have also seen it poured down the drain. Some people really don't deserve to live on this planet.

Tony's advice is sound but if you do want to dispose of your recyclable waste through a local authority I would suggest that you contact their waste management team. You will find them extremely helpful.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, Loddon said:

As you are traveling round the system why not try another recycling depot, most of them do not  demand ID ?

 

An increasing number are though. Ours never did but after they re-opened after it was configured for covid they all of a sudden started asking for proof of address. We also have to book a time slot too.

[David Schweizer]

I know that some re-cycling centres require proof of residency, but this seems to be another example of muddled thinking. What do you think they do with waste oil? They sell it for re-processing, so there is a profit in re-cycling

[Rob-M]

I've used Rugeley recycling centre which is close to the canal and didn't need to prove I live there, this was pre Covid though.

 

There used to be an oil boat moving around the network that would take it.

[Awayonmyboat]

Most local garages/mechanics will take it if you ask nicely (and maybe buy something in their shop if they have one)

[Laurie Booth]

I put mine in hedgerows. 

[pearley]

If I buy from a marina/boatyard I always ask first if they will take the old oil.

[ditchcrawler]

This is what happens when people do it wrong

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, David Schweizer said:

I know that some re-cycling centres require proof of residency, but this seems to be another example of muddled thinking. What do you think they do with waste oil? They sell it for re-processing, so there is a profit in re-cycling

Some of the waste may have a value,but overall it costs local authorities to run waste sites. So they don't want to have to bear the cost of dealing with waste from neighbouring authority areas. A site that is miles from the local authority boundary does not need to check, but sites near the boundary can be overwhelmed by people from the neighbouring authority area whose own facility is further away. Hence the need to check residency.

 

And if you are a liveaboard CCer, and not paying council tax to any local authority, why should you be able to dump your waste for free?

[NB Alnwick]

2 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

I know that some re-cycling centres require proof of residency, but this seems to be another example of muddled thinking. What do you think they do with waste oil? They sell it for re-processing, so there is a profit in re-cycling

 

There is no longer a profit to be made from waste oil which is regarded as hazardous waste. It is therefore costly to handle and process. There was a time when one could deliver waste oil for burning (the Festiniog Railway operated such a scheme) but thanks to environmental legislation and the hazardous waste classification this is no longer practical.

[Rob-M]

59 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

This is what happens when people do it wrong

They were probably nesting where @lauriebooth tipped his last lot.

[David Schweizer]

2 hours ago, NB Alnwick said:

 

There is no longer a profit to be made from waste oil which is regarded as hazardous waste. It is therefore costly to handle and process. There was a time when one could deliver waste oil for burning (the Festiniog Railway operated such a scheme) but thanks to environmental legislation and the hazardous waste classification this is no longer practical.

Yes I am aware of that, but some oil refineries apparently have the facilities to clean and purify old engine oil which is re-used by adding it to "new" engine oil. it is probably what some of the cheapo oils use.

 

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by David Schweizer

[Wanderer Vagabond]

5 hours ago, James H said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I went to the local recycling centre and they require proof that you are a local resident. As a continuous cruiser I am not registered local and so I need a way of disposing safely of my used engine oil. Can anyone please advice me on this? 

Also would handy if I could use local recycling centres for recycling in general, as the CRT don't provide many recycling bins. 

 

Any advise is much appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

Jim.

I don't know how things are working with the requirement to book a slot to go to a recycling centre, but pre-pandemic I would turn up on my pedal cycle to get rid of the waste oil. I suppose that the assumption that they made was that if you'd cycled there you must be a local resident. The only place in the country I had any difficulty was in BANES (Bath) where I even went to the council offices to seek advice on oil disposal, and the lady there didn't have any idea of how to get rid of it. It was also the area where I got the ridiculous 'advice' from a local Halfords to 'tip it down the drain'.?

[Cheshire cat]

Some recycling centres won't allow pedestrians in. You've got to turn up in a vehicle. Our recycling centre uses number plate recognition and you have to be a local. If you pass that test you are allowed 50 visits a year

[David Mack]

9 minutes ago, Cheshire cat said:

Some recycling centres won't allow pedestrians in.

I've never understood that. They say it's a road safety thing but that's nonsense, as when you get to the unloading area there is a complete mix of moving vehicles and people carrying rubbish to the various different skips for different waste types.

 

Many years ago, when I didn't own a car and I lived a couple of streets away from the waste site, I got rid of an old sofa by tieing a rope around the frame and then dragging it through the streets and past the queue of cars, in through the gates and to the disposal area. If they had said no pedestrians would I have had to drag it back home?

[NB Alnwick]

34 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I've never understood that. They say it's a road safety thing but that's nonsense, as when you get to the unloading area there is a complete mix of moving vehicles and people carrying rubbish to the various different skips for different waste types.

 

Many years ago, when I didn't own a car and I lived a couple of streets away from the waste site, I got rid of an old sofa by tieing a rope around the frame and then dragging it through the streets and past the queue of cars, in through the gates and to the disposal area. If they had said no pedestrians would I have had to drag it back home?

 

But that was then - these days, one may not be permitted to exist unless one has a computer with Internet Access, one's own vehicle and an demonstrable independent income.

The past was a different country . . .

[Wanderer Vagabond]

39 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I've never understood that. They say it's a road safety thing but that's nonsense, as when you get to the unloading area there is a complete mix of moving vehicles and people carrying rubbish to the various different skips for different waste types.

 

Many years ago, when I didn't own a car and I lived a couple of streets away from the waste site, I got rid of an old sofa by tieing a rope around the frame and then dragging it through the streets and past the queue of cars, in through the gates and to the disposal area. If they had said no pedestrians would I have had to drag it back home?

Yes, it is a rather bizarre ruling but it is pretty general throughout all recycling centres. The odd part about it that I have never been challenged when entering on a bike, I suppose it's OK as long as I don't get off and push it at all.

[ditchcrawler]

In Lowestoft we have a pedestrian access

[pearley]

The HWRC at Middlewich allows you to walk in and even has moorings outside.

 

The very nice men who run the rubbish boat at Birmingham allow you to leave old oil in the rubbish compound at Cambrian Wharf where they will take back to Rotten Park and dispose of it.

 

There is also a waste oil tank at the CRT yard at Ocker Hill which is,  or was, open to boaters.

Edited February 19, 2021 by pearley

[smiler]

7 hours ago, James H said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I went to the local recycling centre and they require proof that you are a local resident. As a continuous cruiser I am not registered local and so I need a way of disposing safely of my used engine oil. Can anyone please advice me on this? 

Also would handy if I could use local recycling centres for recycling in general, as the CRT don't provide many recycling bins. 

 

Any advise is much appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

Jim.

1. Mark the can as "used engine oil"

2. Bring it back to the recycling depot after closing time, check for cameras and use a disguise if needed(face masks are quite popular nowadays)

3. Place can against the entrance gate and leave.

 

It's not that difficult really.