The Push to Recycle Our Mountains of Trash

I like to think of myself as a reasonably astute environmentalist--recycling newspapers, aluminum cans, that sort of thing. Even the old engine oil from my car has been saved in a 5-gallon can and periodically emptied at a local service station.

To my dismay, however, I recently had to pay for the dumping privilege! The 25 cents per gallon is not staggering, but will undoubtedly send others back to surreptitiously hiding oil in trash cans or dumping it in some vacant lot or storm drain.

Why the charge? The station claims they are no longer able to sell old oil but must pay to have it pumped out and trucked away. What has happened to the used oil market? Was I mistaken in thinking old oil was cleaned, additives restored, then re-packaged and re-sold?

I hope the disposal service isn’t dumping it in a vacant lot somewhere. I can do that myself.

CHUCK LOBB

Torrance