Exploring Oil Waste
We live in a world where oil and water mix. Either water is in oil or oil is in the water. This cost comes at a deadly price.
For almost a half century, I have followed what happens to used motor oil. Back in 1976, I found oil polluting my local watershed of Little Falls in Bethesda, MD. This runs into one drinking water reservoir for our nation’s capital.
A 1980 Parade Magazine article, “We Can Stop Wasting our Oil,” brought national attention to Do-It Yourself (DIY) oil recovery. This article cited a pitiful 5-10% recycling rate, with 85 million DIYers estimated to be throwing away 200 million gallons of used oil.
Of the one quarter of a billion U.S. registered motor vehicles, some still change their own car oil. DIY decline is estimated at around 25%, and or Do-it-For-Me changes are at 75%. Even with the advent of electric cars, there is a massive amount of oil lost in oil, filters, and even containers.
Each year in the United States, over hundreds of millions of gallons of crude virgin oil are processed into various petroleum products such as gasoline, kerosene, plastics, etc. Of this amount, only 1/2 of one percent becomes used oil.
Macro
Oil consumption is at an all-time high. In 2022, the United States consumed an average of about 20.01 million barrels of petroleum per day, or a total of about 7.3 billion. The American Petroleum Institute self-reports their environmental impacts and oil waste data. We are the world's leader in producing 20 percent of new oil.
We inject over a trillion tons of oilfield waste into deep wells in addition to the over 3 billion tons of oil and gas wastes we generate yearly through oil and gas exploration and production in the USA.
Better accounting of oil is beneficial to our future and better manage this precious resource. Yearly, we taxpayers give hundreds of billion in capital gains and incentives to drill new wells. The current onshore oil and gas leasing system burdens taxpayers with liabilities from orphaned wells. For example, cheap federal rates have cost federal and Montana state taxpayers $123 million over the past decade. Also, he left $180 million in potential reclamation liabilities due to inadequate federal bonding requirements.
Micro
Yearly, I estimate the America DIYer discards 400 million gallons of used oil. For years EPA’s has a bogus method called the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), which was designed for municipal landfills, not oil. I ask you to simply reflect on the fact that one gallon of used oil improperly disposed of can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water or ruin the water supply for 50 people for a year
In 1998, there were 450 million light-duty oil filters sold in the United States, while 778 million light-duty filters were purchased in 2002 according to the Filter Manufacture Council. This is the last accounting of these. A typical used light-duty oil filter contains, on average, eight ounces of oil. Widespread adoption of reusable filter systems could virtually eliminate used oil being trapped in filters and prevent steel filters entering landfills. Reusable filters were popular up until the early 1960s and are still widely used in the racing industry today.
Conclusión
The USA, which constitutes 4% of the world’s population. It produces 20% of the world’s oil and creates 15% of climate-altering CO2. It is no surprise that the fossil fuels sector is the most polluting in the world. Despite this knowledge, emissions from fossil fuels keep increasing (https://climatetrade.com).
Back in 1981, I served on the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) “Used Oil Subcommittee.” Their Model Used Oil Legislation encourages states to tax motor oil sales to fund used oil recycling programs similar to a carbon tax. South Carolina and other states that have a tax on motor oil have such programs. Today, there is little effort to promote used oil recovery.
In my 45 years of tracking DIY used oil addressing this pollution is at an all-time low. All forms of oil waste are not being properly managed since it will raise its price. Just follow our weather to see how we are facing this cost. Recently, in getting my income tax done, I reflect on how well we account for personal income while we still are in the dark of the disposal of oil waste.
For further information on Robert Arner, go to www.robertarner.com
Comments