Lack of re-refining technology complicates environmental woes • Study says CNMI generates 214,000 gallons of used oil per year

With the absence of a re-refining technology, the CNMI is faced with an environmental problem on how to properly dispose of the increasing volume of used oil accumulated by various businesses in the island.

Currently, the Division of Environmental Quality has not taken any action against companies that have not been able to dispose of their huge volume of used oil. Used oil disposal in municipal landfill is banned in the CNMI.

Instead, DEQ has been carrying out educational campaigns to ensure that individual, commercial and industrial sources do not simply throw their used oil anywhere and contaminate the environment.

A study conducted by Ross & Associates in 1993 estimates that businesses here generate an estimated volume of 213,000 to 214,0000 gallons of used oil per year.

A survey conducted among distributors and wholesalers showed that some 397,200 gallons of virgin oil (motor oil, lubricating oil) are imported per year.

This year, businesses already generated some 131,217 gallons of used oil aside from the 23,350 gallons which came from 80 small auto shops around the island.

Way Out: Used oil is defined as any oil from crude oil or synthetic oil which has been contaminated by physical or chemical impurities as a result of being utilized. Examples of used oil are motor oil, hydraulic fluid, and piston engine crankcase oils. Other types of used oil include lubricants, emulsions and oil coolants.

Since 1995, the CNMI did not have any problems with disposal of used oil because a company called Clean Earth Inc. has been collecting and shipping them to Australia.

Clean Earth Inc. has been regularly sending one to two containers of used oil every five weeks to Australia until the shipment was banned by the Australian government in 1997 because the cargo comes from an area which is home to the giant African snail.

In search for an alternative, John H. Robinson, Clean Earth general manager, was able to find a company in Manila that would take the shipment and recycle the used oil. However, the Philippine government refused to issue import clearance to the company after it found out that the CNMI, which is part of the United States, is not a signatory to the Basel Convention.

The Philippines is among the 125 signatory countries to the Basel Convention, which controls the transboundaries movement of hazardous waste and their disposal. Put it simply: if you are not a party to the Convention, you cannot ship the hazardous waste to a signatory country.

Committed to the maintenance of a healthy environment, Clean Earth Inc. is now negotiating with the Manila-based company for the transfer of the re-refinery technology here. Although, setting up of the re-refinery plant and equipment may still take a year, at least the Northern Marianas and even neighboring islands in the Pacific will soon have a solution to their problem.

Education campaign: “While we are making sure that containment of used oil is carried out, eventually we have to find a way on how to dispose of the growing volume of used oil,” said Rey Masga, environmental planner at DEQ.
DEQ has created a working group with the business sector on what to do to solve this problem that threatens the environment. It has been easy for DEQ to meet with big businesses that generate huge amount of used oil but it has been difficult to reach out and implement an educational campaign in small auto shops that proliferate on the island.

“We have to constantly educate the outlets of wholesalers and auto shops to make sure that the used oil does not seep into the ground,” Masga said.

Federal used oil standards include a recycling presumption, which simply means that all used oil that is generated will be recycled, according to Ramon Mendoza of the Environmental Protection Agency Region IX. Used oil that is not recycled may be disposed of in accordance with the Federal Municipal Solid Waste Landfill

Regulations or the Hazardous Waste Regulations.

Storage of used oils must be in tanks, containers or units subject to regulation. When storing used oil, containers and tanks must be in good condition and show no signs of severe rusting, apparent structural defects, deterioration or visible leaks.