USED OIL RECYCLING

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Contact

Telephone: (805) 658-4321

Fax: (805) 658-4324

General Questions: VCRecycles@ventura.org

Hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays

Location: 800 South Victoria Ave, Ventura, CA 93009

MOTOR OILS & FILTERS

You do not have to wait for your local HHW collection event to dispose of used motor oil or filters, as these can be recycled at any of the 80+ Certified Used Oil Collection Centers in Ventura County. Certified Centers do not require appointments, making them a more convenient option than the monthly Hazardous Waste Collection Events for used oil recycling. Additionally, Certified Centers are required by the state to offer $0.40 per-gallon, in either cash or service voucher, for used oil upon request. To find a Certified Collection Center near you, please visit CalRecycle’s database of Certified Collection Centers by clicking here.

Call your local Certified Center ahead of time to verify their hours of service, tank capacity, and whether or not they collect oil filters from the public. Certified Centers are not required to accept more than 5 gallons of used oil per person, per day. Please ensure any oil you drop off is free of contaminants such as water, gasoline, antifreeze, or solvents. Contaminated oil may be disposed of at your local Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center. For upcoming events in your area, please click here.

Do not leave oil, filters, or containers at your local Certified Collection Centers outside their regular business hours, as the illegal dumping of hazardous materials carries a fine of up to $10,000.

WHY RECYCLE?

Oil is a finite resource that is becoming more costly to acquire over time. Luckily, used oil can be recycled to create a wide variety of products; either reprocessing through blending used oil with virgin stock for industrial heating fuel or in the creation of new lubricating oils by removing accumulated particulates, replacing additives, and re-refining.

Improper disposal of even one quart of used oil, either by pouring it into the storm drain or sewer, onto the ground, or throwing it in the trash, is enough to potentially contaminate nearly three football fields of water surface or approximately 250,000-gallons of groundwater. By utilizing your local Certified Collection Center network or Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers, you are ensuring that your used oil products are properly reused and kept out of California waters.

AGRICULTURAL USED OIL

There are three recycling centers located in Ventura County specifically for the collection of used oil and filters from agricultural generators. Agricultural used oil collection centers do not offer a recycling incentive payment and are not open to the general public. Contaminated oil is not accepted – please contact a registered hazardous waste hauler for disposal.

According to CalRecycle, agricultural used oil generators may self-haul up to one 55-gallon drum sized container of used motor oil without becoming a licensed hazardous waste hauler if all four of the following conditions are met:

    1. The capacity of any single container does not exceed 55-gallons.
    2. The total of each shipment of used oil does not exceed 55-gallons.
    3. The person transporting the used oil has generated the used oil.
    4. The person transporting the used oil does not transport greater than 55-gallons of used oil, and does not transport any used oil in any container exceeding 55-gallons in capacity, without first contacting the destination location and verifying that the location will accept the used oil.

Assuming all of the above conditions are met, agricultural generators within Ventura County may transport up to 55-gallons of used oil per trip for recycling to one of the centers below. Please call ahead to verify operating hours, the quantity accepted by the Collection Center, and the Center’s remaining tank capacity.

Bunnin Chevrolet              Silvas Oil Company, Inc.       LBL Equipment
              1024 E. Ventura St.             1757 E. Wooley Rd.                   4755 E. Los Angeles Ave.
Fillmore, CA 93015              Oxnard, CA 93030                    Somis, CA 93066
(805) 524-0333                    (805) 486-4581                          (805) 386-3250

USED COOKING OIL & GREASE

While not regulated as hazardous waste, pouring used cooking oil and grease down the sink can wreak havoc on residential plumbing as well as the municipal sewer system, where it can create clogs as the fats solidify and combine with other solid wastes. If possible, used cooking oil and grease should be taken to a recycler.

By appointment, Coastal Byproducts in Oxnard accepts small quantities of residentially generated cooking oil Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., even providing a pickup service to generators with an excess of 20 gallons, completely free of charge. All deposited oils are refined into clean biodiesel. If Oxnard is too far away from your location, one of their restaurant partners may offer a more convenient drop-off option in your city.

For more information, Coastal Byproducts may be contacted directly at (805) 845-8086 or by visiting their website here.

If disposal is your only option, there are a variety of products on the market that allow your used cooking oil to be safely disposed of along with your residential trash. FryAway, Hard Oil, and Quickshine are just a few examples of oil coagulants that will turn hot cooking oil into a solid brick as it cools to room temperature. While those products are advertised to be vegetable-based and environmentally friendly, their formulas are proprietary and unverified. A readily available alternative to these products is Stearic acid, a vegetable-based emulsifier commonly used in soap and candle making. When mixed into hot cooking oil, stearic acid will raise the melting point high enough that it will remain solid at room temperature, rendering it safe for disposal in your trash can. Whichever method you choose, solidifying cooking oil before disposal is a much cleaner option versus throwing away a container full of liquid waste.

BOATER COLLECTION PROGRAM

The following locations accept used motor oil and oil filters from boaters for proper disposal. Do not leave used oil or oil filters after hours. Used oil contaminated with any other fluids will not be accepted.  Contaminated oil can be properly disposed of at a local Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility.

Ventura Harbor                                   Ventura Port District Collection Facility
Dave’s Marine                                        1431 Spinnaker Drive
1404 Anchor’s Way                                (Slip Tenants Only)
(805) 644-6776                                       (805) 642-8618

Channel Islands Harbor                     Lake Casitas
Harbor Department Fuel Dock            Lake Casitas Marina & Boat Rentals
3855 Pelican Way                                   11311 Santa Ana Road
(805) 382-3011                                        (805) 649-2043

Bilge Water Pump-Out Facility
A bilge pump-out station is available to all boaters, free of charge, at the Channel Islands Harbor Department Administration Dock, located next to the Harbor Department Fuel Dock at 3855 Pelican Way. Use of this facility prevents oil, diesel, and other hazardous liquids from being pumped into our sensitive waters and reduces wear and tear on a boat’s bilge pump. Boaters using this facility are reminded not to use detergents or degreasers in their bilges as it interferes with the oil and water separation process of the facility equipment.

AIRCRAFT OIL & FILTER RECYCLING

Ventura County’s Airport Used Oil Collection Program provides local pilots and aircraft owners with an easy way to properly dispose of used oil and filters. Pilots can recycle their used engine oil and filters at facilities set up at the Camarillo and Oxnard airports as well as at State Certified Collection Centers throughout Ventura County. Each airport’s collection site features drums for used engine oil as well as a container for oil filters.

Aircraft tenants at Camarillo and Oxnard can obtain free, reusable containers by contacting their airport’s main office below or by clicking here.

Camarillo Airport                                      Oxnard Airport
(805) 388-4497                                             (805) 382-3022

Aircraft tenants at the Santa Paula Airport can take their used oil and filters to one of the State Certified Collection Centers located in the city. These centers are listed below. Santa Paula Airport tenants can obtain a free, reusable container while supplies last by calling the Santa Paula Solid Waste & Recycling Department at (805) 933-4219.

Auto Zone (Does not accept filters)      Kragen Auto Parts
159 E. Harvard Blvd.                                    275 W. Harvard Blvd.
(805) 933-1339                                             (805) 933-4983

Residents can take their used motor oil and filters to a local Certified Collection Center (CCC). For a listing of CCC locations click Department of Recycling Resources and Recovery (CalRecycle) or contact your local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) & Recycling Coordinator.

Contaminated oil and other types of hazardous waste may be disposed of at your local HHW collection facility. For more information. Please click here.