Used Oil Recycling

Used Oil Curbside Pickup Program
Residents may place a maximum of two fully sealed, one-gallon plastic containers of uncontaminated (meaning not mixed) used motor oil at curbside on their designated trash day. Please clearly mark each container as USED MOTOR OIL. Please do not mix engine coolant, water, or other materials with used oil. For more details on how to prepare used oil for pick-up or drop-off, visit Burrtec on the Web or call Burrtec at 760.393.0635.

For more information on how to dispose of household hazardous waste, call the City's Environmental Hotline at 760.391.4129. Why We Need to Dispose of Used Oil Properly

• If the oil generated by all of the do-it-yourself oil changers in America were collected and re-refined, it would provide enough motor oil for over 50 million cars each year. This would:
  o Reduce our dependence on imported oil
  o Help reduce our trade deficit
  o Provide American jobs
  o Be environmentally friendly

• In California alone, over 120 million gallons of used oil were recycled in 2006. However 20 million gallons of used motor oil is disposed of each year in an unknown manner by do-it-yourself oil changers. This equals nearly 1 gallon of improperly disposed used oil for every adult Californian.

• Don't pour it down the drain or on the ground:  Used oil can foul sewage treatment processes; oil dumped on the land reduces soil productivity; and oil from a single oil change can ruin the taste of a million gallons of drinking water

Additional Used Oil Recycling Locations
The California Integrated Waste Management Board, in partnership with  the County of Riverside, has established used oil collection centers throughout County, including many in Indio. These collection points are available to the public for disposal of waste oil, oil filters, antifreeze, and used automobile batteries at NO CHARGE. 

What happens to Used Oil?
There are many practical uses for used motor oil. A primary use is to rerefine it into a base stock for lubricating oil. This process is very similar to the refining of crude oil. The result is that the rerefined oil is of as high a quality as a virgin oil product. In fact, rerefining used oil takes from 50 to 85 percent less energy than refining crude oil.