Small farms qualify to have used motor oil collected by County

FALLBROOK – Farmers and small agricultural interests in the unincorporated areas have until July 31 to take advantage of a San Diego County program that collects and recycles used motor oil and oil filters. This service is normally available only to residents in the unincorporated areas.

The service, part of the San Diego County Used Motor Oil Recycling Program, is funded by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).

To schedule a pickup, residents and farmers may call (800) 449-7587 or email [email protected]. They do not have to be at home when materials are collected, and senior and disabled residents can request in-home assistance for gathering and packing their materials. Recycling used motor oil and filters helps keep our communities and waterways clean. Each year 25 million gallons of oil are washed down California storm drains, flowing straight to the ocean. Residents and farmers can help prevent this by safely storing their used motor oil and filters until they can be recycled through the County’s free collection program or by dropping the materials at collection centers in Fallbrook and throughout the County.

Collection sites are listed on the recycling web site at http://www.r1earth.org/oil/. It is recommended to call the site first to check on any limitations on the quantity of oil that can be accepted.

Used motor oil and oil filters are completely recyclable. Motor oil can be cleaned and used indefinitely as re-refined oil with no loss of quality and the steel in oil filters is often recycled into rebar.

For more information on the used oil recycling program, contact Jennifer Winfrey at (858) 874-4020.