Everything you need to know about recycling oil filters
Oil Filters includes:
Oil strainers
Engine oil filters
Motor oil filters
Engine oil cleaners
FIND A RECYCLER
Learn more about recycling oil filters
How to recycle oil filters
There are a number of commercial auto parts and metal recyclers who will recycle oil filters for a charge. Use the directory on this page to find an oil filter recycler near you.
For operations with a high number of oil filters there are machines available for on-site recycling.
Why recycle?
Oil filters are a significant industrial waste stream and should be recycled to recover the oil and metal. Used filters are considered to be liquid waste and it is illegal to put them in a bin or skip for disposal untreated. Automotive filters retain significant amounts of oil and are not suitable for landfill disposal as oil picks carries a variety of contaminants when used in engines and transmissions including lead, dioxins and benzene. When disposed of incorrectly it can harm the land, waterways, underground reservoirs and the marine environment.
What happens to it?
Best practice management of oil filter waste involves the use of a mechanical crusher to remove and recover most of the oil they contain. The free oil removed from the filter must be contained, managed and stored separately from the filters. Drained and mechanically crushed oil filters are then classified as solid waste. Many metal recyclers will accept the crushed filters for scrap metal.
