Getting the Right Oil for Your Car and Recycling It Properly

If you drive a car at all, you need to know about engine oil and the importance of having the right product for your vehicle. This means familiarizing yourself with different motor oil types and finding out the recommended motor oil for your specific automobile.

The Society of Automotive Engineers has come up with a grading system to differentiate between the varying kinds of engine oil. These range from lower viscosity to higher viscosity–which refers to the liquid’s ability to stave off deterioration in the midst of normal use–and run from 0 all the way up to 60.

While about half of European engine oil is “re-refined,” only as much as 15% of the oil in America is “re-refined.” This means that the United States could be doing a much better job at recycling used motor oil. In fact, the Environmental Protection agency reports that about 200 million gallons of engine oil is disposed of improperly and illegally annually.

It is all the more astonishing when you consider that oil that is wrongfully dumped after an oil change can pollute an astounding one million gallons of fresh water. When you consider that in 2009 alone, 3.7 billion gallons of used engine oil were produced by cars worldwide, it is obvious that we need to be more responsible about where to get oil changes. It makes sense to go somewhere that you trust to dispose of the oil properly.

If you have further questions, comments, or suggestions about where to get oil changes, please share them in the section below.