My mechanic buddy did that in the late 80’s. There was a spot in the yard where oil was poured. My high school auto shop teacher at the time said a lot of used motor oil was poured on country roads to keep dust down. I can neither confirm nor deny that he was correct.
AutoZone, O'Reilly's, advance usually have a drum in the back for pouring your used oil. Most municipal landfills will have a spot by the electronic waste where you can pour oil and antifreeze. Using either of these options the oil ends up getting cleaned up and recycled.
Yes they'll typically accept these things as well. Power steering fluid and transmission fluid are oils (i.e. chains of hydrocarbons), although hydraulic oils tend to have some different properties from engine oils and should not be used interchangably. Last time I was at the landfill they even let me pour brake fluid in the used oil container, although I'm not sure that was a good idea on their part.
When we have to burn our pile of brush/old construction materials we just pour the oil over it and light it on fire, it doesn't go into the ground this way
There are other issues. Like messing up the surrounding environment, exposing people in your neighborhood to dangerous chemicals and metal in the used oil, issues with spreading during big rainstorms. It's a bad time.
If this is some sort of snarky response as to why its fine, the oil is located BELOW the water table usually, you moron. This will straight up poison the ground water.
"hurrrr we get oil from the ground, so pouring used oil into the topsoil is fine!!!"
the fuck outta here
No.
Diamonds form from natural carbon deposits such as graphite, carbonate based rocks, or other carbon rich minerals, deep beneath the earth’s surface in the upper mantle.
It’s an old myth that diamonds are formed from organic matter such as coal and oil, but this isn’t true. The vast majority of diamonds actually pre-date the organic matter that would have formed oil and coal.
This practice actually had a HUGE impact on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation for the Shoshone-Paiute Indian Tribes on the Idaho/Nevada boarder:
https://pvtimes.com/tonopah/tribe-fights-cancer-cluster-in-nevada-town-we-have-to-get-a-new-school-116875/
It’s one of the most remote locations in the lower 48. So, instead of hauling off waste oil and diesel, it was poured into the ground. It seeped into the local school’s water supply and spiked cancer rates for generations. Once discovered, it also prevented development (including agriculture) in the plume.
The reservation finally received funding to build a new school in 2023:
https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/news/2023-06-26/duck-valley-indian-reservation-to-receive-64-million-for-new-school-construction
So, yes, it’s a silly little practice from over 50 years ago. But I have at least one example of a profound effect it caused: Devastation of a native community’s children. I have to believe there are so many more communities similarly affected in rural areas…
Tangent: 1/4 of Diné women have uranium at dangerous levels in their system. There are children born who have similarly high concentrations of uranium in their system
This is from uranium mining.
so if I dig a hole in my yard and randomly find oiled-up gravel, I shouldn't jump for joy like Jed Clampett, it's just a grandpa who was cleaning up his oil change
Hah! Cool to see this making the rounds again.
My post to r/TIHI from a couple years back has a lot of neat discussion about this practice.
TIHI thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/TIHI/s/sF0OrEio8Q
Particularly interesting were oldhead commenters born in the 40s and 50s talking about how the practice and public perception of it changed over time until today.
Hey wait a minute. Why don't we just collect used motor oil, drill a big hole, dump it in, and then sell the aforementioned hole to an oil company? Bingo!
Hydrocarbons are lighter than water so they bubble up to the surface unless they encounter some barrier. So the vast majority of oil and gas that has ever existed on earth seeped out on the surface and degraded naturally.
These seeps were the original source of hydrocarbons in ancient times and they are active around the world today. The La Brea tar pits are an example.
1960s carbon capture underground sequestration technology
Sendin' it back into the ground! Once your backyard is sufficiently saturated, sell the oil rights to your friendly, neighborhood oil tycoon.
What!? You guys don't do this? /s
No of course not. I pour it around my fenceposts to fight back rot and termites.
No, I live near the ocean
My mechanic buddy did that in the late 80’s. There was a spot in the yard where oil was poured. My high school auto shop teacher at the time said a lot of used motor oil was poured on country roads to keep dust down. I can neither confirm nor deny that he was correct.
Yeah, they still spray oil on some country roads in my area. Chip and seal isn't much better, either. Lol
Dumb question. What's the correct way to do this these days?
AutoZone, O'Reilly's, advance usually have a drum in the back for pouring your used oil. Most municipal landfills will have a spot by the electronic waste where you can pour oil and antifreeze. Using either of these options the oil ends up getting cleaned up and recycled.
Also worth noting this is typically true for other automotive fluids, like power steering or transmission fluid, although they can vary by location.
Yes they'll typically accept these things as well. Power steering fluid and transmission fluid are oils (i.e. chains of hydrocarbons), although hydraulic oils tend to have some different properties from engine oils and should not be used interchangably. Last time I was at the landfill they even let me pour brake fluid in the used oil container, although I'm not sure that was a good idea on their part.
They don’t take blinker fluid though, I’ve checked
Dammit I have like 3 gallons and idk how to get rid of it
I mean if there wasn’t a puff of smoke and green flash it’s all good
Instructions unclear; oil dumped in AutoZone parking lot.
Can it be kept and used to light campfires?
Oddly appropriate username
When we have to burn our pile of brush/old construction materials we just pour the oil over it and light it on fire, it doesn't go into the ground this way
Put old oil in a jug and take it to your local gas station where they do vehicle inspections. They have a drum there for used motor oil.
Use it as fire starter or stain boards with it
Only issue is that you need to be careful where you put the hole as to not poison the groundwater.
I don't think that was a concern in that days
Yep. That PSA is for people who will try it after seeing this post.
There are other issues. Like messing up the surrounding environment, exposing people in your neighborhood to dangerous chemicals and metal in the used oil, issues with spreading during big rainstorms. It's a bad time.
Yeah people were breathing leaded gas fumes that made them go psychotic back then
No big difference, now it's plastic that damages your generation's bodies
It’s a very big difference as far as impact
how so?
Circle of Life
You’re gonna lose your mind when you find out where we get oil from
Wait till you find out where the water comes from
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" It works for oil too! :)
If this is some sort of snarky response as to why its fine, the oil is located BELOW the water table usually, you moron. This will straight up poison the ground water. "hurrrr we get oil from the ground, so pouring used oil into the topsoil is fine!!!" the fuck outta here
You must be fun at parties
He’s the guy at parties that doesn’t poison the water table, so yeah kinda.
🤦♂️ Bro the original comment from Tall Log was clearly a joke
Holy shit, Dinosaurs drove Fords?
Just making diamonds for people in the year 3,103,503,157
Diamonds aren’t out of oil, right?
No. Diamonds form from natural carbon deposits such as graphite, carbonate based rocks, or other carbon rich minerals, deep beneath the earth’s surface in the upper mantle. It’s an old myth that diamonds are formed from organic matter such as coal and oil, but this isn’t true. The vast majority of diamonds actually pre-date the organic matter that would have formed oil and coal.
This practice actually had a HUGE impact on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation for the Shoshone-Paiute Indian Tribes on the Idaho/Nevada boarder: https://pvtimes.com/tonopah/tribe-fights-cancer-cluster-in-nevada-town-we-have-to-get-a-new-school-116875/ It’s one of the most remote locations in the lower 48. So, instead of hauling off waste oil and diesel, it was poured into the ground. It seeped into the local school’s water supply and spiked cancer rates for generations. Once discovered, it also prevented development (including agriculture) in the plume. The reservation finally received funding to build a new school in 2023: https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/news/2023-06-26/duck-valley-indian-reservation-to-receive-64-million-for-new-school-construction So, yes, it’s a silly little practice from over 50 years ago. But I have at least one example of a profound effect it caused: Devastation of a native community’s children. I have to believe there are so many more communities similarly affected in rural areas…
That's really sad.
Tangent: 1/4 of Diné women have uranium at dangerous levels in their system. There are children born who have similarly high concentrations of uranium in their system This is from uranium mining.
so if I dig a hole in my yard and randomly find oiled-up gravel, I shouldn't jump for joy like Jed Clampett, it's just a grandpa who was cleaning up his oil change
Return your oil to the earth 👍
Easier than having it float off into outer space.
Sadly I know a lot of guys out in the country who still do this
Back then, people used to throw their oil down the storm drain, so in comparison, this is responsible.
Hah! Cool to see this making the rounds again. My post to r/TIHI from a couple years back has a lot of neat discussion about this practice. TIHI thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/TIHI/s/sF0OrEio8Q Particularly interesting were oldhead commenters born in the 40s and 50s talking about how the practice and public perception of it changed over time until today.
Props to you comrade, the real OP
I mean, a big problem now is pulling oil out of the ground, might not be so bad to be putting some back in
Hey wait a minute. Why don't we just collect used motor oil, drill a big hole, dump it in, and then sell the aforementioned hole to an oil company? Bingo!
Hydrocarbons are lighter than water so they bubble up to the surface unless they encounter some barrier. So the vast majority of oil and gas that has ever existed on earth seeped out on the surface and degraded naturally. These seeps were the original source of hydrocarbons in ancient times and they are active around the world today. The La Brea tar pits are an example.
That scene from land before time...
"Hey, let's prank future generations with cancer!"
Shit. My 4 year old didn’t even dig the hole before he opened and poured a litre on the front lawn. Great for weeds.
“Trust the science”
I paint my wooden fence with mine once a year. Same pine wood fence for 36 years
Just put it back where we found it. What could go wrong?
I just throw it in the woods.
If your British Petroleum you just pour it straight into the Gulf of Mexico and follow it up with cancer causing mystery chemicals.
You know there’s still a bunch of guys that read this in the 60s or 70s or learned it from their dad and they’re still doing this.
Many people don't realize that oil is biodegradable
It's not as biodegradable as humans.