Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division
Household Oil

Disposal of animal or vegetable oil

A few household hazardous waste programs are beginning to collect used animal and vegetable oils for biodiesel generation.  Check with your local program to see if this option is available to you.  If not, this type of oil will have to be stabilized for disposal.  Landfills are not allowed to accept liquid wastes, so animal or vegetable oil should be solidified by mixing it with kitty litter or other absorbent to the point that the absorbent is moist, but not dripping.  The moist absorbent should be double-bagged in trash bags and can then be put in the trash.  If you have a large quantity of animal or vegetable oil, check your phone directory for rendering plants or other recyclers.

Used motor oil recycling

Local service stations offering oil changing services, specialty oil changing service facilities and auto parts retailers may accept up to 5 gallons of uncontaminated used motor oil for recycling as a service to their customers.  Some county maintenance yards will accept limited quantities of uncontaminated used oil from residents of their county.  Always call first before bringing oil to a potential recycling site.  Please do not abuse these resources by abandoning used oil or other wastes at these facilities after hours or you may be charged with illegal disposal.  Used motor oil cannot be disposed of in the trash. 

Disposal of Used Oil filters

Well-drained oil filters can be disposed of in the trash.  As a practical matter, if the oil filter drips used oil when you pick it up, it hasn’t been properly drained.  Puncturing the filter dome or anti-flowback valve, crushing, or dismantling the filter will facilitate removing as much of the free oil as possible.  Oil removed from a filter should be saved and recycled with the rest of your used oil.

These procedures are intended for small quantities of used oils and filters from a household only.

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