What are the Benefits of Using an Oil Filter Crusher?
Oil filter crushers have many benefits and provide a financial and environmental return-on-investment to their owners. This article provides a detailed list of many of those benefits.
Regulatory Compliance
Regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many states require that used oil filters must be drained of all free-flowing oil before they are discarded or recycled. The use of oil filter crushers is one of the leading methods to drain filters and prepare them for recycling and ensure regulatory compliance.
Efficiency
In addition to crushing various methods can be used to drain oil from filters including hot draining, disassembly, and using air pressure to force oil from filters. The problem with most alternatives to crushing is that they are time consuming, hard to scale, and potentially hazardous. Therefore, in most scenarios, using an oil filter crusher is the most efficient and ultimately the lowest cost method to dispose of used oil filters.
For example, hot-draining is the process puncturing the oil filter while at or near engine operating temperature. This process requires operators to remove the filter from the engine while it is still warm and then to puncture and drain the filter. The process typically takes a minimum of 12 hours. Hot draining can also expose operators to fire and splash hazards.
Oil filter crushers can quickly crush any number of filters and capture the used oil. Some crushers can be operated in a hands-free manner and only require the loading of the filter and pushing a button. Larger balers can even load, crush, and eject the bales of crushed filters automatically.
Environmental Benefits
The amount of oil of captured when crushing is significantly greater than other draining methods. Furthermore, crushed filters require less storage space and are easier to sell and recycle.
According to the Steel Recycling Institute “Recycling all the filters sold annually in the United States would result in the recovery of about 160,000 tons of steel, or enough steel to make 16 new stadiums the size of Atlanta’s Olympic Stadium.”
The recycled steel is used to manufacture a wide variety or products such as cans, some car parts, manhole covers, rebar, and more.
Re-using oil helps to reduce heavy metal emissions and greenhouse gasses. Crushing filters also reduces the amount of landfill space required and the resultant contamination from leaking oil.
So in terms of regulatory requirements, savings of time and money, safety, and environmental benefits, oil filter crushers are the best choice for volume handlers of used oil filters
To learn how to select the most appropriate oil filter crusher for your needs, please visit the Oil Filter Crusher Buyer’s Guide.