Used Motor Oil – accounts for 363 million gallons in our oceans!
50% of Americans change their own motor oil, but only 1/3 of that oil is collected and recycled while 2/3 of it is dumped down drains or spilled on driveways and onto streets. One typical 5 quart oil change improperly dumped can contaminate millions of gallons of freshwater.
Routine ship maintenance and washing containers – account for 137 million gallons of oil in our oceans.
From air pollution – 92 million gallons
Natural seepage of oil bubbling up from the sea bottom – 62 million gallons
Large Spill Accidents – 37 million gallons
Offshore drilling – 15 million gallons
Oily hair mats can be turned into compost. Read about our remediation studies here.
Ken Litchfield and his students from Merritt College in California are doing a remediation treatability study with oil soaked hair mats to see how algae can be used to break down the waste.