July 27, 2009

“North Carolina laws governing landfills are designed to insure that ground water is protected from contamination,” said Amanda Kain, Catawba County’s Recycling Coordinator. “Motor oil filters that end up in landfills could contaminate ground water, so the State is banning oil filters from landfills. This means no one may dispose of oil filters in their regular trash after October 1, 2009. Residual oil remaining in a standard auto filter ranges from 2 to 8 ounces. If all of the approximately 14.3 million filters generated in North Carolina each year were disposed, they would introduce between 240,000 and 970,000 gallons of oil into landfills.”

House Bill 1465 recognizes that oil filters are highly feasible to recycle. Many filters generated in the state are already being recycled, yielding valuable oil and steel resources for industrial use.

“Catawba County is now accepting used oil filters at most Convenience Centers across the county,” Kain added. “This gives our citizens a place to properly recycle the filters. We’ve been accepting used filters at our Household Hazard Waste Collection days for many years. We are pleased to be able to offer this oil filter recycling program in advance of the State ban on filters in regular trash and landfills.”

Oil filters will be accepted at the County’s Convenience Centers on Rocky Ford Road off Highway 10 west of Newton (across from the Blackburn Landfill); on Lookout Dam Road in the Oxford Community; at the now closed Newton Landfill on Bethany Church Road; and in the Cooksville Community on Rhoney Farm Road. Oil filters will not be accepted at the Sherrills Ford Convenience Center, as the terms of a new lease agreement with Duke Energy for the use of that property prohibits the acceptance or storage of hazardous materials, including petroleum products.

The Cooksville Center is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. The Bethany Church Road Center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The Blackburn Convenience Center is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. The Oxford Convenience Center operates Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

For more information regarding where and how to recycle your used oil filters, you may contact Amanda Kain, Catawba County’s Recycling Coordinator, at 828-465-8217.