Oil Filter Recycling and Transportation Services for Ohio and other States

Used oil filters disposed of in landfills currently pose a significant threat to Ohio's drinking water. A study done at the University of Iowa demonstrated that used oil contains varying amounts of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, barium, chromium, and arsenic. In addition used oil contains over 2-dozen known carcinogenic compounds. The good news is that used oil filters are 100% recyclable, from the oil trapped in the filter, to the metal filter canister, right down to the filter media.

Compaction and Draining Alone are not Enough

Draining an oil filter for 12 hours removes a little more than half of the oil that was present when the filter was removed from the car (see Figure 1). Crushing an average mix of drained automobile oil filters further  reduces the oil volume in the filters by an average of 88%. A typical drained and crushed oil filter retains 12% of it's original oil, an average of 1 ounce. The oil remaining in only 32 crushed and drained oil filters is enough to contaminate 250,000 gallons of water.

Ohio residents purchased an estimated 16,600,000 oil filters in 1994. Even if  all of those filters were crushed and drained, an estimated 130,000 gallons of used oil could still end up in Ohio landfills. Recycling of filters is an important step in reducing the amount of oil that is released into the environment.

Filters should be allowed to drain for a minimum of 4 hours. Ideally they should be drained overnight (see figure 1). Filters can be drained by placing them on a wire mesh and draining them into a receiving container.

If your business does a large volume of oil changes, consider the purchase of a press which will crush the filters into pucks approximately 1 inch high prior to transport to a recycling facility. This can both reduce the volume of the filters and storage and disposal costs, and increase the amount of oil recovered from the filter which can be sold for recycling.

More Recycling Information from OCAPP

(figure 1) Source: University of Iowa

The companies listed below provide used oil filter transportation or recycling service in Ohio. Please note that this list is only a partial representation of companies and should not be seen as an endorsement or approval of the businesses by Ohio EPA. Users of the list are encouraged to research the compliance status of any business they utilize. If your company wishes to be added to the list, contact the Division of Hazardous Waste Management (DHWM) in writing.

For more information on oil filter recycling, please contact The Office of Compliance Assistance & Pollution Prevention 

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Ohio Companies

Capitol City Oil, Inc.
375 Columbus Road
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
Telephone: (800) 201-0988
Fax: (740) 397-3943
Contact: Amy von Freyman

EPA#OHD981000920

Service: Collect, transport and process used oil filters.  Filters are drained and crushed on site.  The metal is sent to a local scrap yard, which transports them to a shredder.  After shredding, the filters are sent to a steel mill to be melted down for new product introduction. The used oil is reclaimed and processed on site into a #4 industrial oil fuel. We accept crushed or uncrushed filters.  We also accept bulk shipments of oil filters.  Service area: Ohio

General Environmental Management
2727 Transport Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Telephone: (216) 621-3694, Ext. 256
Contact: Doreen Ostroske
Web: www.gemenv.cc

Service: Hazardous waste TSDF, wastewater pretreatment

Toledo Service Center
5148 Tractor Rd.
Toledo, Ohio 43612
Telephone: (419) 476-4500
Fax: (419) 476-6615
Contact: Steve Petro

Sharonville Service Center (Cincinnati)
11919/11923 Tramway Drive
Sharonville, Ohio  45214
Telephone: (513) 563-0931
Fax: (513) 563-4763
Contact: Jay Geisler

Brunswick Service Center (Cleveland)
1169 Industrial Parkway
Brunswick, Ohio  44212
Telephone: (330) 273-3111
Fax: (330) 225-4033
Contact: Stephen Gugino
 

Kent Service Center (Akron)
354 Portage Blve.
Kent, Ohio 44240
Telephone: (330) 673-3340
Fax (330) 673-9407
Contact: Ken Soliwoda
 

Groveport Service Center (Columbus)
4465 Marketing Place
Groveport, Ohio  43215
Telephone: (614) 836-2505
Fax: (614) 836-1336
Contact: George Popyak

Web: www.safety-kleen.com

Service: Filters shredded and metal sent to a scrap metal dealer, media kiln, and the oil to a re-refiner; transportation

Other States

Crystal Clean Parts Washer Service
3970 West 10th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46222
Telephone: (317) 486-2770
Fax: (317) 486-5087
Web: www.crystal-clean.com

Service: Recycle and transportation

First Recovery- Ecoguard, Inc.
301 East Main Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Telephone: (606) 357-7389

Service: Shreds filters and sends them to a steel mill for recycling; transportation. Other: In Ohio, will accept filters in all areas except Cleveland, Akron, Canton, and Youngstown, but will shortly accept filters statewide; recognize discount for Valvoline customers; will accept crushed or uncrushed filters; require filters to be hot-drained for 24 hours.

Liquid Waste Removal, Inc.
500 South Polk Street, Suite 100
Greenwood, Indiana 46142
Telephone: (317) 881-9754
Fax: (317) 889-0383
Contact: Cheryl Hedden

Service: Crushes and sends filters to a steel mill for recycling; transportation.

Metropolitan Diesel Supply, Inc.
18211 Weaver Street
Detroit, Michigan 48228
Telephone: (313) 272-6370
Fax: (313) 272-9280
Contact: Todd Winteringham
Web: www.metrodiesel.com

Service: Transportation

Necessary Oil Company
1300 Georgia Avenue
Bristol, Tennessee
Telephone: (423) 764-4533
Fax: (423) 764-2175

Service: Recycle used oil and oil filters. Transportation

Oil Filter Recyclers of Illinois
P.O. Box 72
Easton, Illinois 62633
Telephone: (309) 329-2131
Fax: (309) 329-2355
Contact: Greg Potter

Service: Collect,  transport and process used oil filters. Filters are shredded, the steel is sent to a mill, the oil is sent for re-refinement and/or fuel blending and the  filter media is used for fuel. We are zero landfill.

Phillip Services Corporation (PSC)
515 Lycaste Street
Detroit, Michigan 48214
Telephone: (313) 824-5850
Fax: (313) 824-5423
Contact: inetisg@contactpsc.com

Service: Fuel blender, solvent reclamation, rags and steel reclamation

Safety-Kleen Corporation
1000 North Randall Road
Elgin, Illinois 60123
Telephone: (800) 669-5740
Web: www.safety-kleen.com

Service: Filters shredded and metal sent to a scrap metal dealer, media to a cement kiln, and the oil to a re-refiner; transportation.

Office of Compliance Assistance and Pollution Prevention
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
P.O. Box 1049
Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049
Phone (614) 644-3469
Fax (614) 644-2807
Toll Free (800) 329-7518
E-Mail: p2mail@epa.state.oh.us 

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page last updated: November 24, 2004