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Used oil

We have different requirements for managing used oil and waste oil. While used oil is a recyclable commodity, waste oil must be handled by a permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facility in accordance with the dangerous waste regulations.

Find information, resources, and rules to follow if you handle household used oil or you are a generator, collection center, aggregator, aggregation point, transporter, transfer facility, processor, off-specification burner, or marketer.

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Generator type

Documents for reference
Do-it-yourself used oil generator: an individual who generates used oil at home through maintenance of their personal vehicles. Search Washington's 1-800 Recycle database to find places that accept and recycle used motor oil and filters.
Used oil generator: a person or business that causes oil to become used oil or waste oil. Rules for used oil generators describes what the person or business that first causes the oil to be used oil may and should do with the oil.
Used oil collection center: a site or facility registered (or permitted) by local government to accept and collect used oil from used oil generators. Best Management Practices for Used Oil - Collection Centers
Used oil aggregator or aggregation point: a site or facility that collects used oil from other sites or facilities owned by the same oil generator. Best Management Practices for Used Oil - Aggregation Points

Used oil transporter/transfer facility:

  • Person who collects and transports used oil from generators.
  • Generator who transports their used oil.
  • Owner or operator of a used oil transfer facility.
 Best Management Practices for Used Oil - Transporters & Transfer Facilities
Used oil processor: a business that produces a fuel and a used oil re-refiner that makes a cleaned oil lube stock from used oil.

Rules for used oil processors and re-refiners

Best Management Practices for Used Oil - Processors and Re-refiners
Off-specification burner: a facility that burns off-specification used oil for energy recovery in an industrial furnace, industrial boiler, or a utility boiler. Best Management Practices for Used Oil - Off-Specification Used Oil Burners
Used oil marketer: the first person to claim that the used oil meets the contamination limits or who directs the shipment of off-specification used oil directly to a burner. Marketers must notify us. Best Management Practices for Used Oil - Fuel Marketers

Definitions

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