| Every Day is Oily Earth Day
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CONTACT: Ann Adams 312-735-2104
USED OIL AND OIL FILTER RECYCLING EFFORT GETS GREEN LIGHT
New Grass Roots Initiative By Rice Environmental Services Targets Municipalities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – (AKRON, OHIO, May 5, 2008) – Recycling used oil and oil filters just got easier in Northeast Ohio thanks to a new grassroots program – Every Day Is Earth Day – kicked off today by Akron-based Rice Environmental Services (RES). Designed to help municipalities promote sustainability of Ohio’s natural resources, the Every Day Is Earth Day initiative will help cities set up collection and recycling centers for used oil and used oil filters generated by individuals that perform routine, at-home car, motorcycle, jet ski, boat or lawnmower maintenance.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 40 percent of the nation’s oil pollution comes form the improper disposal of used motor oil and filters by do-it-yourself oil and filter changers (DIYers). Even though it is legal to throw crushed and drained used oil filters in the trash, the Ohio Environmental Agency (Ohio EPA) encourages DIYERS to recycle them since those that wind up in landfills pose a significant threat to Ohio’s drinking water. When properly crushed and drained, a typical oil filter retains 12 percent of its original oil – just 32 drained and crushed oil filters is enough to contaminate 250,000 gallons of water.
“A DIY oil and filter changer can positively impact the environment by properly disposing of his used fluids and filters. Recycling not only safeguards our area waterways, but also promotes sustainability of oil – a limited, natural resource,” says David K. Charlton, CEO of RES, a division of The Rice Companies.
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According to Charlton, the Every Day Is Earth Day campaign emerged in response to positive feedback garnered during RES’ first annual Oily Earth Day event. The event, which took place April 20 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1974 in Parma, Ohio, attracted dozens of area DIYers oil and filter changers. In just two hours, RES collected more than 800 quarts of used motor oil – the equivalent of 200 oil changes –but only one used oil filter.
“Every Oily Earth Day participant understood the negative impact they would have on the environment if they had poured their used oil down the drain. We had some people that had been storing used oil in plastic jugs in their garage for more than five years because they didn’t know where to turn for recycling,” said Charlton. “When we queried recyclers about their used oil filters, hands down, the response was ‘Used oil filters are easy to dispose of. I don’t need to worry about them. I just drained it, put it in the box and throw it in the trash. It’s that easy.”
RES has been collecting and recycling used oils, oil filters and antifreeze, and other non-hazardous waste streams from fleet, commercial, industrial and automotive businesses throughout Northeast Ohio for 15 years. “We are in the oil business. We have a responsibility to protect and sustain our natural environment and our nation's economy for future generations. Via our Oily Earth Day event, we learned that DIYers lack knowledge of and access to area recycling efforts. Every Day Is Earth Day is designed to raise awareness of the importance of proper disposal techniques in this underserved population.”
RES plans to raise awareness of its on-going consumer recycling initiative one city at a time. Efforts are already underway in Parma and Parma Heights, Ohio. To learn how your village or city can get involved, please contact 1-800-589-RICE (7423).
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Rice Environmental Service and Rice oil Company, LLC are divisions of The Rice Companies – Northern Ohio’s Premier supplier of world-class environmental and lubrication products and services.
CONTACT: Ann Adams 312-735-2104
USED OIL AND OIL FILTER RECYCLING EFFORT GETS GREEN LIGHT
New Grass Roots Initiative By Rice Environmental Services Targets Municipalities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – (AKRON, OHIO, May 5, 2008) – Recycling used oil and oil filters just got easier in Northeast Ohio thanks to a new grassroots program – Every Day Is Earth Day – kicked off today by Akron-based Rice Environmental Services (RES). Designed to help municipalities promote sustainability of Ohio’s natural resources, the Every Day Is Earth Day initiative will help cities set up collection and recycling centers for used oil and used oil filters generated by individuals that perform routine, at-home car, motorcycle, jet ski, boat or lawnmower maintenance.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 40 percent of the nation’s oil pollution comes form the improper disposal of used motor oil and filters by do-it-yourself oil and filter changers (DIYers). Even though it is legal to throw crushed and drained used oil filters in the trash, the Ohio Environmental Agency (Ohio EPA) encourages DIYERS to recycle them since those that wind up in landfills pose a significant threat to Ohio’s drinking water. When properly crushed and drained, a typical oil filter retains 12 percent of its original oil – just 32 drained and crushed oil filters is enough to contaminate 250,000 gallons of water.
“A DIY oil and filter changer can positively impact the environment by properly disposing of his used fluids and filters. Recycling not only safeguards our area waterways, but also promotes sustainability of oil – a limited, natural resource,” says David K. Charlton, CEO of RES, a division of The Rice Companies.
-- 2 --
According to Charlton, the Every Day Is Earth Day campaign emerged in response to positive feedback garnered during RES’ first annual Oily Earth Day event. The event, which took place April 20 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1974 in Parma, Ohio, attracted dozens of area DIYers oil and filter changers. In just two hours, RES collected more than 800 quarts of used motor oil – the equivalent of 200 oil changes –but only one used oil filter.
“Every Oily Earth Day participant understood the negative impact they would have on the environment if they had poured their used oil down the drain. We had some people that had been storing used oil in plastic jugs in their garage for more than five years because they didn’t know where to turn for recycling,” said Charlton. “When we queried recyclers about their used oil filters, hands down, the response was ‘Used oil filters are easy to dispose of. I don’t need to worry about them. I just drained it, put it in the box and throw it in the trash. It’s that easy.”
RES has been collecting and recycling used oils, oil filters and antifreeze, and other non-hazardous waste streams from fleet, commercial, industrial and automotive businesses throughout Northeast Ohio for 15 years. “We are in the oil business. We have a responsibility to protect and sustain our natural environment and our nation's economy for future generations. Via our Oily Earth Day event, we learned that DIYers lack knowledge of and access to area recycling efforts. Every Day Is Earth Day is designed to raise awareness of the importance of proper disposal techniques in this underserved population.”
RES plans to raise awareness of its on-going consumer recycling initiative one city at a time. Efforts are already underway in Parma and Parma Heights, Ohio. To learn how your village or city can get involved, please contact 1-800-589-RICE (7423).
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Rice Environmental Service and Rice oil Company, LLC are divisions of The Rice Companies – Northern Ohio’s Premier supplier of world-class environmental and lubrication products and services.
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| PARMA, OH, April 20th, 2008
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OILY EARTH DAY EVENT FOR AUTO LOVERS IS FIRST OF ITS KIND
Consumers Asked To Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink Waste Disposal Practices
(AKRON, OH, April 20, 2008) – In support of Earth Day 2008, Rice Environmental Services (RES) and Rice Oil Company (RICE) are encouraging automotive do-it-yourselfers (DIYers) to positively impact the environment by recycling their used oils and filters. On Sunday, April 20, in conjunction with the City of Parma and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1974 (VFW), RES and RICE will accept and recycle used oil, used antifreeze and used oil filters from area DIYers in an effort to promote sustainability and prevent pollution of Northeast Ohio’s natural resources.
A long-term recycler, RES has been collecting and recycling used antifreeze, used oils, used oil filters and other non-hazardous waste streams from fleet, commercial, industrial and automotive customers throughout Northeast Ohio for more than 20 years. “We have a robust recycling program in place for Ohio businesses but DIYers are an underserved population. We are hoping to make impressive recycling gains by redirecting one of our core capabilities to offer DIYers an easy way to recycle and promote conservation and preservation of the environment,” says David Charlton, CEO of RES and RICE.
According to industry experts, nearly half of all United States households contain at least one person that changes fluid and filters himself – an automotive DIYer. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 142 million gallons of used oil generated by DIYers are disposed of improperly each year. Additionally, the most recent data from the Ohio EPA reveals that even if the 16,600,000 oil filters purchased by Ohio residents were disposed of properly, an estimated 130,000 gallons of used oil could still end up in Ohio landfills.
“Most DIYers don’t realize that roughly nine ounces of oil remain trapped in every discarded used oil filter that winds up in a landfill. Even if properly drained, one crushed used oil filter retains on average one ounce of oil. It takes only 32 crushed and drained oil filters to contaminate 250,000 gallons of drinking water,” states Charlton.
He adds that “filters are made of steel so they can be recycled. Data from the Filter Manufacturing Council reveals that nearly 161,500 tons of steel are lost to land fills every year – that’s enough steel to construct 16 stadiums the size of Cleveland’s Jacobs Field.”
RES is also encouraging consumers to drop off used vegetable oil, which the company plans to recycle into fuel for its fleet of diesel trucks. Finally, everyone is encouraged to drop off gently used cell phones, Blackberrys and Smartphones. RES will send all phones collected to Michigan for participation in the Cell Phones For Soldiers program, a charity that enables our troops overseas to phone home free to friends and family.
The event will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the VFW located at 4305 Woodrow Drive in Parma, Ohio. The first 50 recyclers will receive up to four quarts of new motor oil and all donators will receive a hat for their participation. Hot dogs will be served with proceeds going toward the purchase and planting of trees in the Parma area. For more information about the event, please call 1-800-589-RICE (7423) or visit www.1800589RICE/earthday
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Rice Environmental Services and Rice Oil Company, LLC are divisions of The Rice Companies – Northern Ohio’s premier producer of world-class environmental and lubrication products and services.
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| Oily Earth Day Pix and Articles About Event in USA Today
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