Dear Eartha,
I have accumulated a variety of automotive fluids from different cars and dirt bikes. Where and how can these be recycled in Summit County? – Zach, Breckenridge
Zach, your question is an important one, and thank you for being a good steward of our environment by recycling your automotive fluids. Did you know that – according to the EPA – every gallon of improperly discarded motor oil can contaminate up to 1 million gallons of drinking water? Petroleum products – such as motor oil – do wonders for lubricating and preventing damage to your machine’s moving parts, but they are not biodegradable and therefore not so great for the environment. Recycling is the only environmentally-friendly way to dispose of them.
All automotive fluids, including antifreeze, transmission fluid, hydraulic fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, motor oil, gear oil, and gasoline are considered Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and can only be dropped off at the Summit County Resource Allocation Park (SCRAP) – aka the landfill, compost pad, and recycling facility – in Keystone. Thanks to the 2014 voter-approved Safety First Fund, dropping off HHW at the SCRAP is free to Summit County residents. HHW is accepted Monday – Saturday, 7am to 4pm. Please note, automotive fluids are not accepted at any of the Summit County recycling drop-off centers.
Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. While you can recycle all types of automotive fluids at the SCRAP, the end uses vary depending on the liquid. Our landfill site has two tanks for recycling your fluids; a clean, used petroleum tank and an antifreeze tank. When you drop off your fluids, they are sorted into their respective tanks and eventually pumped out by a third party to be recycled into new fluids or burned to generate energy – two of the three “R’s” – reuse and recycle. If the used oil is clean enough, SCRAP staff will use it in their on-site oil burners to supplement their heat supply in winter.
Keep in mind that it is illegal to dispose of gasoline onto land, into storm drains, or down toilets because of the detrimental environmental impacts. Gas is accepted at the SCRAP as part of the regular HHW collection as long as it is clearly labeled and dropped off in an appropriate, sealed gasoline container.
Oil filters are also accepted at the SCRAP because they are considered equally toxic to our environment. Additionally, some local auto parts stores, such as Advance Auto Parts in Silverthorne, will also recycle your motor oils free of charge. I suggest contacting other individual locations prior to dropping off to make sure they will, in fact, take it.
And while we’re on the subject of Household Hazardous Waste, Zach, did you know that the SCRAP will also take other dangerous items for free? This list includes items such as paints, stains, glues and adhesives, chemicals and cleaners, fertilizers and pesticides, mercury thermostats and switches, and electronic waste such as televisions, computers and cell phones. For a full list of what is – and is not – accepted as HHW visit HighCountryConservation.org or call 970-668-5703.
Ask Eartha Steward is written by the staff at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation. Submit questions to Eartha at info@highcountryconservation.org.
Zach, your question is an important one, and thank you for being a good steward of our environment by recycling your automotive fluids. Did you know that – according to the EPA – every gallon of improperly discarded motor oil can contaminate up to 1 million gallons of drinking water? Petroleum products – such as motor oil – do wonders for lubricating and preventing damage to your machine’s moving parts, but they are not biodegradable and therefore not so great for the environment. Recycling is the only environmentally-friendly way to dispose of them.
All automotive fluids, including antifreeze, transmission fluid, hydraulic fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, motor oil, gear oil, and gasoline are considered Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and can only be dropped off at the Summit County Resource Allocation Park (SCRAP) – aka the landfill, compost pad, and recycling facility – in Keystone. Thanks to the 2014 voter-approved Safety First Fund, dropping off HHW at the SCRAP is free to Summit County residents. HHW is accepted Monday – Saturday, 7am to 4pm. Please note, automotive fluids are not accepted at any of the Summit County recycling drop-off centers.
Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. While you can recycle all types of automotive fluids at the SCRAP, the end uses vary depending on the liquid. Our landfill site has two tanks for recycling your fluids; a clean, used petroleum tank and an antifreeze tank. When you drop off your fluids, they are sorted into their respective tanks and eventually pumped out by a third party to be recycled into new fluids or burned to generate energy – two of the three “R’s” – reuse and recycle. If the used oil is clean enough, SCRAP staff will use it in their on-site oil burners to supplement their heat supply in winter.
Keep in mind that it is illegal to dispose of gasoline onto land, into storm drains, or down toilets because of the detrimental environmental impacts. Gas is accepted at the SCRAP as part of the regular HHW collection as long as it is clearly labeled and dropped off in an appropriate, sealed gasoline container.
Oil filters are also accepted at the SCRAP because they are considered equally toxic to our environment. Additionally, some local auto parts stores, such as Advance Auto Parts in Silverthorne, will also recycle your motor oils free of charge. I suggest contacting other individual locations prior to dropping off to make sure they will, in fact, take it.
And while we’re on the subject of Household Hazardous Waste, Zach, did you know that the SCRAP will also take other dangerous items for free? This list includes items such as paints, stains, glues and adhesives, chemicals and cleaners, fertilizers and pesticides, mercury thermostats and switches, and electronic waste such as televisions, computers and cell phones. For a full list of what is – and is not – accepted as HHW visit HighCountryConservation.org or call 970-668-5703.
Ask Eartha Steward is written by the staff at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation. Submit questions to Eartha at info@highcountryconservation.org.