Just 1 litre of used machine oil can contaminate 1 million litres of water.

When used oil is dumped or accidently washed into storm-water drains, it ends up in ground and surface waters, threatening the health of aquatic organisms and the safety of our drinking water supply.

Used oil is any degraded lubricating oil drained from machinery e.g. engines, gearboxes and hydraulic systems. It decomposes only very slowly in the environment, and it's full of toxic compounds such as poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), to name just one type. Several PAH compounds are carcinogenic and mutagenic (i.e. they stimulate genetic mutation).

Keep used oil out of our waterways by taking it to the ROSE (Recycling Oil Saves the Environment) Foundation, a non-profit, environmentally responsible oil recycler with drop-off centres throughout the country. .

- Olivia Rose-Innes, EnviroHealth Editor, Health24, October 2011

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