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I'm starting to feel awfully dumb, so I would appreciate input.

I finally got around to recycling my used motor oil and filters that have been accumulating shamefully in the shed. Now I'm left with all of these #2 plastic oil bottles that need to be disposed of. On the County website (http://www.richlandonline.com/departments/PublicWorks/motoroil.asp) the instructions are to "Empty the containers and disposed [sic] of them with your household garbage." Note that they don't say recycle.

Is there any good reason why these things would not recycle? Logically I think the only good place for them would be in the recycling stream given what even trace amounts of used oil can do to the water supply. Better yet, do any Columbia locals know what the answer is?

And yes, I'm ready for my EV now.

Land fills aren't the direct channel to the water supply that many people think, and oil is much lighter than water, less likely to flow to the ground water. How about flattening them as much as you can and then putting the cap back on so that they have to puncture before even a minute amount would exit the bottle. That's what I do.

I don't know. I've always just thrown then in the dumpster after I empty them out at the recycling place. I don't know if the oil lining the bottle would actually screw up the plastic recycling process or not.

I always thow mine in with my other recyclables. They are marked for recycling and plastic is made from oil. When in doubt I always opt for the recycle bin, if it isn't recyclable they'll sort it out at the plant and throw it away (no harm done).

I put my empties in the recycle bin...

Here is what Eco-Cycle has to say on the subject.

Is a #2 bottle that had motor oil in it recyclable? I hope it is. I’d hate to throw it away.

Taking a risk that I shall henceforth be known as a dasher of hopes, I’m going to have to give you a “no” on this one. Motor oil residue has become one of the biggest contaminants for our plastics markets. The residue seeps into the porous plastic and cannot be removed through the washing process. Of course you should never try to rinse or wash a motor oil bottle yourself since motor oil down the sink or storm drain causes a much larger environmental crisis than a plastic bottle in the trash. The market representatives who take our plastics tell us a motor oil bottle in a pile of plastics could potentially contaminate a whole batch of otherwise-recyclable materials and cause the whole lot to be sent to the landfill. So, when you look at it, recycling a motor oil bottle would be the real dasher of hopes for all the other bottles that really wanted to be recycled.

To responsibly dispose of a motor oil bottle, make sure you let it drip into the engine so it’s as empty as possible and tightly reseal the lid before you toss it.

If your idea of creating green jobs is throwing them in the recycling for pickers to pull with the chance of contaminating more go for it.

http://www.ecocycle.org/askeco-cycle/2005/0121.cfm

Here is what Eco-Cycle has to say on the subject.

Is a #2 bottle that had motor oil in it recyclable? I hope it is. I’d hate to throw it away.

Taking a risk that I shall henceforth be known as a dasher of hopes, I’m going to have to give you a “no” on this one. Motor oil residue has become one of the biggest contaminants for our plastics markets. The residue seeps into the porous plastic and cannot be removed through the washing process. Of course you should never try to rinse or wash a motor oil bottle yourself since motor oil down the sink or storm drain causes a much larger environmental crisis than a plastic bottle in the trash. The market representatives who take our plastics tell us a motor oil bottle in a pile of plastics could potentially contaminate a whole batch of otherwise-recyclable materials and cause the whole lot to be sent to the landfill. So, when you look at it, recycling a motor oil bottle would be the real dasher of hopes for all the other bottles that really wanted to be recycled.

To responsibly dispose of a motor oil bottle, make sure you let it drip into the engine so it’s as empty as possible and tightly reseal the lid before you toss it.

If your idea of creating green jobs is throwing them in the recycling for pickers to pull with the chance of contaminating more go for it.

http://www.ecocycle.org/askeco-cycle/2005/0121.cfm

I forgot to add this old recycling saying:

When in doubt, throw it out!

In my neck of the woods, oil recyclers take the contaminated bottles too. I usually rinse the last few drops out of oil bottles with some paint thinner, but they still go to the oil recycler. One litre of oil will contaminate 10,000 litres of water, supposedly.

Thanks, guys! It seems a shame but I guess these things are going to have to be tossed out the old-fashioned way.

I've been wondering this too - thanks for the info!