Facts About Car Fluids
- One gallon of motor oil has the potential to contaminate one million gallons of water, and it is a major cause of polluted waterways and drinking water.
- Motor oil is insoluble in water.
- If there is a spill, use an absorbent material like sawdust or cat litter to clean up the spill and dispose of properly.
- As antifreeze biodegrades in water, it lowers the level of dissolved oxygen and kills aquatic life. It also tastes sweet (take our word for it), which makes it enticing and potentially deadly to animals and children.
- Motor oil mixed with water is often not accepted by recyclers.
- Over 380 million gallons of used oil is reused or recycled in the U.S. each year, according to the U.S. EPA.
- Up to 74 percent of all oil reuse/recycling in the U.S. involves burning oil in turbines, incinerators, power plants, cement kilns and manufacturing facilities (asphalt, steel, etc.).
- If brake fluid is mixed with other car fluids, it may create hazardous waste that cannot be recycled.
- Oil poured down the drain can kill the bacteria needed to break down human wastes in sewage treatment plants or in a septic system.
