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Rob Arner
One of the largest manufacturers of oil filters, Purolator Products Company, has just displayed a new product from an old practice, a reusable (disposable-cartridge) oil filter. The filter medium is disposed and the housing is saved. A test program with 40 Chrysler vehicles was announced at the Society of Autmotive Engineer Total Life Cycle conference last April. The Chrysler two year study will show how the new reusable filter outperforms the disposable ones. During the 1960s, reusable oil filters were replaced by spin on disposable ones because of convenience. Now, European environmental pressure are reversing this trend so to prevent pollution. Some American automobile manufacturers are exploring reusable filters since they are being used in Europe because of increased pressures of product stewardship.
Approximately 400 million oil filters are produced annually in the U.S., which includes original equipment and after-market installation in passenger cars, light trucks and heavy duty applications. Approximately 75% of all used oil filters are currently not recovered. Recycling all oil filters generated in 1994 would result in the recovery of an estimated 161,500 tons of steel and 17.8 million gallons of oil.
Properly disposing of oil filters can be a problem, especially for Do It-Yourselfers (DIYs), who change their own oil. Oil filters are a hidden source of used oil. An undrained oil filter can contain several ounces of used oil, from one half pint (8 oz., e.g., compact car) to a full quart (32 oz., e.g., heavy duty truck). A popular selling oil filter (14% of market sales) has a capacity of 23 ounces but after hot draining for 12 hours retains 3.5 ounces of used oil. Any properly drained oil filter will contain one to eight ounces of residual oil. Realizing that 45% of passenger car filter sales are to DIYs, oil filters contain a significant part of DIY used oil. Unfortunately, many DIY used oil recycling programs do not accommodate filter recycling. Only 1% to 2% of DIY generated oil filters are estimated to be recycled. Many automotive service centers have been slow to recover filters since this may be too expensive and the filter recycling market is underdeveloped.
A recent API study indicates that 70 percent of used oil is not lost in the engine. Several other studies indicate that 70-80 percent of oil placed into a vehicle is available for recovery.
Oil from oil filters needs to be incorporated into current state used oil programs to decrease the volume of used oil entering the environment. Collection sites that already collect used oil may explore the collection of used oil filters. These sites include public drop-off centers, gasoline service stations, auto service centers, quick lubes, and government facility locations. Interestingly, some localities have curbside collection of oil filters along with their recycling programs, such as: Chino, California.
Some states have enacted regulation on used oil filter disposal that exceed federal requirements. California and Rhode Island consider used oil and used filters a hazardous waste unless recycled, compacted and/or shredded. Texas and Minnesota have outlawed all oil filter disposal while Florida has restricted disposal of oil filters by the commercial sector. The next step may be legislation to require the sale of reusable oil filters. The lubricating oil industry in Manitoba, Canada as of mid April are required to establish and maintain a recovery system for their products, including lubrication oil, oil filters and oil containers.
President Clinton's Executive Order on Recycling required that by April 20, 1994, federal agencies implement guidelines for the procurement of re-refined oil-based lubricants for all government vehicles. Can the federal government go an extra step and demand reusable filters? In fiscal year 1992, federal automotive fleets totaled 513,682 vehicles, with the majority run by GSA, DOD and the U.S. Postal Service (208,000 vehicles. Many state and local governments base their own procurement systems on the federal system, extending this mandate reach to fleets of buses, police cars and garbage trucks.
Promoting a reusable design for oil filters will do the most to prevent pollution and encourages public support to recycled oil. Reducing the problem, recovering used oil filters, at the source both improves the material management and reduces the environmental liability of recovering this contaminated media (creates an environmental preferable product and facilitates increased used oil recovery). Potential pollution to the water, land and air can all be reduced.
There are many patents on reusable oil filters designed to protect the environment from both a life-cycle and oil recovery perspective. These reusable filters could replace the current sealed spin-on filter. This innnovation would allow for retro-fit of all exixting automobiles with no modifications or tools. The greatest barrier to used oil/filter recovery is the lack of convenient recycling centers. By extending the life of the filter you create a product that does not have to be recycled. Another obstacle is that even hot draining a popular selling oil filter it still retains 3.5 ounces of used oil. Every DIY filter may have contain one to eight ounces ouf residual oil. It is believed a small percentage of DIYs correctly punctures the “dome end” of the filter with a sharp tool to to defeat the anto-drawback value function and allow to drain hot for 12 hours there is alot of used oil lost into the environment. This idea of reusable filters allows for all the used oil (except for a very minimal residual on the paper medium) to be recovered for recycling. By designing the source reduction into the product the consumer will a choice to help the environment.
The greatest challenge in managing both used oil and filters in the United States is creating the reuse/recycling infra-structure to recover these products. There are hundreds of thousands of facilities in the U.S. that qualify as used oil/filter generators. Used oil/filter generators encompass a wide range of industrial sectors. A large portion of these generators are small businesses, although there are several distinct types of used oil generators, such as the million of individual oil changers, service station dealers, commercial oil changers (auto repair shops, quick lubes, auto dealerships), industrial generators and governments (federal, state and local).
Another test is encouraging the small quanity generator involvement in the recycling loop. Therefore, this reusable product increases the amount of waste prevention by providing a sufficient number of options to the regulated sector. By creating new opportunities to generators (encouraged or latter required) to reduce at the source, greater environmental and safety considerations are accomplished. Implementation of this form of source reduction, via stimulating increase usuage also will reduce the amount used oil filter recycled transportation to the processors, thus lessening air pollution besides not having produce new steel for new oil filters .
Many retailers sell oil/filters at a loss to draw customers into their stores to purchase other merchandise. Even though some retail establishment have established recycling opportunities the inconveince to properly drain and recycling filter is still underdeveloped. National industry sources estimate that only twenty five percent of all used oil filters are recovered and slightly one to two percent from the DIY segment.
The key is how can tapping into the "DIY" sector of used oil and filter recovery. This is an individual who removes used oil from a motor vehicle, utility engine or farm equipment that he or she owns and operates. There are tens of millions of Americans—from blue collar workers to affluent car buffs—who change oil from their own vehicles.
Supporting the commericialization of reusable oil filters can also address another majors barrier to used oil/filter recycling. This new product can both educate and encourage customers to recycle their used oil as they read the instruction on how to use the reusable filter. All the benefits would be achieved with no extra cost and effort. Designing a reusable filter housing also educates the public that the oil to can be recovered besides the obivous waste reduction of steel waste. Only the filter element is replaced. Mechanics could identify if excessive build up of contaminants in the filter.
With leadership from consumers, public and private sectors, this sustainable technology, reusable oil filters, that thirty years ago was once viable in the marketplace can return. Used oil and filters can become a serious problem or a valuable resource depending upon how it is managed. The fact is, one oil change at least contains four quarts which, when improperly disposed of, can ruin one million gallons of fresh water, thus adversely impacting fish and plant life. The marketing of reusable oil filters can be another example how industry, government and consumers can profit from pollution prevention.
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