METRO
Solid Waste Department
600 NE Grand Ave.
Portland, OR 97232-2736
(503) 797-1650
Fax (503) 797-1795
Disposal information for this waste substream is limited, so calculation of a valid waste generation rate for this material is unfeasible.
5.66 million gallons(2)
[FOOTNOTE 2: This includes recovery from all sources in the Metro area. It is based on the 1993 Metro "Recovery Level Survey."]
All processors collect from commercial and industrial sources. Additionally, motor oil is collected through curbside residential programs, at 18 public drop-off locations and at all G.I. Joes and Schucks stores throughout the Metro region. Some processors operate depots at their own facilities.
Marine and industrial boiler fuel.(3)
[FOOTNOTE 3: Used oil can be re-refined back into lubricating oil. However, the capacity to do this in the Metro area has not developed because it is not economically feasible at this time.]
-$0.05 to $0.02 per gallon(4)
[FOOTNOTE 4: This is the price range processors charged/paid for waste oils in July 1994. It varies depending upon quality, quantity and the price of competing industrial fuels. Most processors accept used oil from the public at no charge.]
Price and availability of alternative boiler fuels, high collection and processing costs due to rigorous, complex and changing environmental regulations.
Recovery of lubricating oils fell for the second consecutive year in 1993. At the same time, however, recovery of this material from curbside residential programs increased 33 percent between 1992 and 1993, from 765 tons (207,000 gallons) to 1,016 tons (275,000 gallons).(5)
[FOOTNOTE 5: 1993 Metro "Solid Waste Information System Report."]
The drop in total oil recovery appears to be due to increased on-site use of waste oil as heating fuel, and to weak demand and market prices. Oil processors are servicing fewer transmission shops and other small to medium-sized commercial waste oil generators.
In many cases, these types of waste oil generators are only seeking recycling service during warm weather months. At the same time, weak demand and market prices for reprocessed oil have caused some oil processors to reach their inventory capacity and to scale back their recovery efforts. Apprehension about pending used oil regulations also may have had a chilling effect on recovery.
Graphic: Estimated Gallons of Oil Recovered from Metro Area (1988-1993) [(See Source Document)]
Approximately 80 percent of the oil recovered in the Metro area comes from transportation-related sources such as auto and truck shops. Most of the remaining oil recovered comes from industrial sources such as machine shops and fuel tank bottoms. More than 95 percent of the oil recovered in the Metro area is collected from commercial and industrial sources, with the balance coming from curbside and depot collection programs. Local oil processors collect oil themselves and contract for collection.
All waste oil recovered in the Metro area is processed for use as marine and industrial boiler fuel. About 85 percent is burned in ship boilers and about 15 percent is burned in land-based industrial and heating boilers. Land-based boilers include:
Local processor demand for waste oils historically has exceeded the supply of this recovered material. This has been due mostly to the face that the economic incentive for small quantity generators (e.g., do-it-yourself mechanics) to recycle this material has been small, while the inconvenience of recycling it has been relatively high. More than 700,000 gallons of used oil from this type of generator is unaccounted for. The quantity of oil recovered annually from the Metro area could be boosted 5 to 10 percent by increasing household recovery from 20-80 percent. Additionally, it is difficult to police illegal dumping of small quantities of this material, and there have been increasing concerns about potential liability associated with handling it.
Reprocessed oil fuels compete with bunker fuel oil based on world prices, and with natural gas, hog fuel (wood), and tire derived fuel (TDF) based on prices in the Pacific Northwest.
Graphic: Primary Recycling Process [(See Source Document)]
The approximate price spreads for these fuels are listed below.
| Fuel | $/Million BTU(7) |
|---|---|
| Natural Gas | $2.40 to 3.20 |
| Wood | $1.35 to 2.95 |
| Oil | $1.30 to 1.60 |
| Tire Derived Fuel | $1.05 to 1.95 |
[FOOTNOTE 7: These ranges are for fuel delivered to end users within a 100-mile radius of the Portland-Metro area. They are based on information gathered from processors and the Oregon Department of Energy officials in June 1994. They are intended strictly to illustrate the relative prices for these competing fuels.]
Processing and marketing costs for oil can be minimized in several ways. Good quality recovered material, for example, typically costs less to process and market than poor quality recovered material, so educating waste generators and collectors about contamination issues can be effective. Processing costs also can be improved through technological advancements and process refinements.
About half of local processors' costs are related to collection, one-third to processing and the balance to marketing. Heavy environmental regulation of used oil recycling impacts each of these cost components, but particularly processing, where it can account for more than 30 percent of the cost. Processors attempt to minimize this cost by testing recovered oil for several potentially hazardous contaminants, especially chlorinated solvents. All commercially available reprocessed oil must meet EPA specifications for lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium and halogens. Polychlorinated biphenyls, sometimes present in waste oils, are heavily regulated.
The main factors affecting the value of reprocessed oil fuel are the price of alternative fuels, and the cost to burn alternative fuels. Natural gas has become the fuel of choice for many industrial facilities because it is competitively priced, has low particulate emissions per BTU of energy generated, and requires relatively little boiler maintenance. Reprocessed fuel oil also has relatively low particulate emissions per BTU compared to alternative boiler fuels such as hog fuel.
This relationship between particulate emissions and energy output is significant because some facilities must burn some natural gas or oil to meet their energy needs without exceeding the particulate emission limits allowed under their state air discharge permits. Reprocessed oil fuel, therefore, must be price-competitive with natural gas in order to compete in this market. Reprocessed oil generally must be priced 20 to 25 percent below the price of natural gas to compete with it.
Graphic: Gallons of Used Oil Collected Through Metro-area Curbside Recycling Programs (1991-1993) [(See Source Document)]
While markets for used oil are expected to remain marginal in 1994, they are expected to improve somewhat in 1995 due to moderate increases in world oil prices and implementation of a number of local initiatives. World oil price projections are based on oil futures prices and economic outlook reports from the WEFA Group and the Kiplinger Report. The basis for these projections is steady world oil supply, with increasing demand due to economic recovery in Japan and Germany.
New state and federal used oil regulations have been adopted that clarify liability issues associated with handling this material. Adoption of these regulations establishes clear and reasonable rules by which used oil collectors and processors can pursue their recovery objectives. This eliminates a specter that has had a somewhat chilling effect on collection and processing activities for many years.
Collection programs are expanding. All G.I.Joe and Schucks stores now accept used motor oil from the public. In November 1993, Metro opened a second household hazardous waste collection facility in northwest Portland that accepts used oil and other materials.
Business and government are collaborating to evaluate existing collection and education programs and to recommend ways to improve these programs. The 1993 Oregon Legislature created a broad-based statewide committee to evaluate the effectiveness of certain oil recycling programs and to recommend steps to improve these programs. The Legislature also established aggressive goals for recovery of used motor oil from do-it-yourself mechanics.
The Association of Oregon Recyclers (AOR) also has completed a study of education and promotion techniques to increased used oil recovery from households.
Some oil processors are investigating means to expand storage capacity and demand for reprocessed fuel oil.
Last Updated: November 1, 1995