by Tammy Williams
VehicleMD Staff Writer
Originally published in Summer 2010 Issue

Reduce, reuse, recycle. This is the mantra many of us are following in today's more environmentally conscious society. We're reducing the amount of packaging we use, reusing items like grocery bags and plastic water bottles, and recycling where and when we can. Plus, more and more of us are looking for recycled products when it comes time to buy, knowing these products cut down our energy consumption and lessen our impact on the environment.

But did you know you can actually purchase a motor oil that is "recycled"?

It's technically called "re-refined" motor oil because it comes from used motor oil that has been collected, cleaned and actually put back through the refining process. The resultant products meet the same high quality standards as "virgin" motor oil manufactured from crude oil, but helps protect the environment in a number of ways.

"Re-refining used oil conserves non-renewable resources and can reduce dependence on foreign oil," said Curt Knapp, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Safety-Kleen Systems, North America's largest collector and re-refiner of used oil and producer of EcoPower, an eco-friendly motor oil. "Re-refining uses up to 85% less energy to produce and is an eco-responsible way to manage used oil."

The re-refining process also keeps millions of gallons of used motor oil from being disposed of improperly. For instance, the oil from one oil change (about a gallon) can contaminate one million gallons of drinking water. That's a year's supply of water for 50 people!

According to federal reports, oil that is not collected and re-refined accounts for more than 40 percent of the total oil pollution of our nation's harbors and waterways.

Re-refined motor oil is eco-friendly in other ways, too.

For example, collection and re-refining of about 150 million gallons of the over one billion gallons of the used oil generated by U.S. vehicles each year can save more than one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, which is equivalent to taking 200,000 cars off the road every year.

Most of the motor oil found in engines today is made from crude petroleum that is carefully "refined" into base lubricating oil. Later in the manufacturing process, a combination of additives are added, giving motor oil the special properties that set it apart from other petroleum products like tar or gasoline. These additives wear out over time, which is why you must change your oil at regular intervals. The base oil—what we call the oil that doesn't have additives added to it yet—actually never wears out. It just becomes dirty as it works to do its lubricating job.

When the oil is drained from your engine, your service center collects it in a used-oil tank. Then, a re-refining company collects the oil and takes it to the refinery. The used oil can be conventional, synthetic, high-mileage or any of the several other motor oil types found across the country; the type of oil doesn't matter when it's being re-refined.

At the refinery, the used oil goes through a process that cleans up the oil by removing the additives and contaminants. This makes it just as good as oil derived from virgin crude. In fact, re-refined oil may be even better because it takes 85 percent less energy to re-refine motor oil than to produce it from crude.

Once the oil has been cleaned and re-refined to give it the right consistency and chemical properties, additives are added to the newly re-refined oil, making it ready to use in your engine once again.

The great thing is, since the petroleum molecules never wear out, this process can be repeated over and over again.

How do you know re-refined motor oil is safe for your engine? Chances are, the motor oil currently in your vehicle is certified by the American Petroleum Institute. This is the association that tests all motor oils on the market to make sure they meet minimum performance requirements. You can tell that an oil is API-certified because it bears the "donut" symbol on the front of its package. If re-refined oil has been certified by API, you can rest assured it's safe for your engine.

Also, major car and engine manufacturers have approved the use of re-refined oil. So, as long as the re-refined oil you choose meets the same standards called for in your owners manual, it will not void your warranty.

Next time you're due for auto maintenance, ask your service technician about re-refined motor oil. If you choose this route, you'll not only be getting an oil change that's good for your engine, you'll be getting one that's good for the planet, too.