Used Oil Recycling Program

Re-refined Oil

Responsible drivers throughout California are making a change for the better. They're switching to re-refined motor oil. And it's easy to see why:

• Test after test has shown that re-refined oil is just as good, if not better, than virgin oil.
• Re-refined lubricants that are American Petroleum Institute (API) certified comply fully with vehicle manufacturers' warranty requirements.
• The price of re-refined oil is comparable to virgin oil. In some cases, it costs less.

Re-refined oil products are subject to the same stringent refining, compounding, and performance standards applied to virgin oil products. API-licensed re-refined oils must pass the same cold-start, pumpability, rust-corrosion, engine-wear, and high-temperature viscosity tests that virgin oils do. The API and American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA) have developed the Engine Oil Licensing Certification System (EOLCS) to ensure all engine oils consistently meet performance specifications.

Rerefining is an energy-efficient and environmentally beneficial method of managing used oil. Less energy is required to produce a gallon of re-refined base stock than a base stock from crude oil.

Lubricating oil does not wear out, it simply becomes dirty as it does its job. Once water and contaminants are removed from collected used oil, it is returned to a full and useful life as a re-refined base oil. There is no compromise in the quality of re-refined oil.

Select from the links below to learn more!

• Myths and Questions About Re-refined Oil
• Facts About Re-refined Oil
• The Process of Rerefining
• Who Uses Re-refined Oil and Why
• Automotive Industry Positions
• List of Re-refiners, Blenders, and Distributors
• Encouraging Re-Refined Oil’s Use at the Quick Lube: Re-Refined Oil Outreach. This 60-page report (October 2005) summarizes a two-year market research project on the use of re-refined oil at quick-lube oil change businesses in Southern California.

For Local Government and State Agencies

• Public Contract Code
• Department of General Services Lubrication Contract

Links to Other Sites

• U.S. EPA
• American Petroleum Institute

• Defense Supply Center: Richmond Virginia

• Unocal/Dennis Petroleum
• Safety-Kleen
• Lyondell Lubricants

Last updated: December 27, 2007