Chapter 9 Vehicle Maintenance, Fluid Service, and Recycling 153 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. G A RA G E D U F F ’ S However, EPA regulations also state that no manifest is needed for used oil or lead-acid batteries if they are sent for recycling. In such cases, the material is not regarded as hazardous. Your state may have its own requirements check with your state hazardous waste management agency. Unless recycled for scrap metal, used oil filters are considered hazardous waste. If not recycled, they must be listed on the monthly manifest as hazardous. Before disposal, filters should be gravity drained so they do not contain free-flowing oil. Store them uncrushed in a closed, labeled container for pickup by a recycler. Recycling Motor Oil Used motor oil is considered hazardous waste unless it is destined to be recycled. The old oil should be stored in an approved container for recycling. One gallon of used motor oil can be refined into two and one-half quarts of high-quality motor oil. It takes about 40 gallons of crude oil to produce this much motor oil. Recycling old oil not only saves our environment from pollution, but it also helps save our natural resources. Always send used motor oil to a recycling center! Put the oil in an approved container. Some recycling com- panies provide a pickup service, while others require you to take the old oil to their facility. Recycling Coolants Antifreeze has been classified as a hazardous waste due to heavy metal and chlorinated solvents that it picks up circulating through cooling systems. It should never be mixed with used oil. The entire mix- ture would then be classified as a hazardous waste, even though the used oil may not be, under federal regulations. Regulations require that spent antifreeze solutions be collected by a registered hazardous waste hauler. Several major companies offer pickup and recycling services. Recycling Refrigerants Refrigerants, such as R-134a, removed from automotive air conditioning systems during servic- ing should not be vented to the atmosphere. State regulations require that refrigerants be recovered and recycled. As you will learn in later chapters, systems are now available for recovering, cleaning, and recycling air conditioning refrigerants. Other Automotive Recyclables Other recyclable materials that are commonly removed from service during maintenance and repair of vehicles include: • Catalytic converters, which contain platinum. • Worn tires, which can be sold to a retreader com- pany (if the carcass is sound) or to a shredder. Shredded rubber is an ingredient in road resurfac- ing materials and other products that give the rub- ber a second use. • Batteries can be recycled and used to make new batteries. This prevents lead, acid, and other materials from adding to our waste disposal problems. • Brake shoes can be recycled and sold as cores for making reconditioned brake shoes. • Many small assemblies (alternators, starters, mas- ter cylinders, etc.) can be recycled and made into rebuilt assemblies. • Plastic bumpers and other body parts can be recycled into a variety of new products. Diagnostic Case Study Concern: Ms. Jones brought her 2012 KIA in for repair because she noticed a puddle of fluid on her garage floor. Cause: Duff, the shop owner, questions Ms. Jones to find out more about what is wrong with the vehicle. He asks her about unusual sounds and odors. He also asks if she knows approximately where the fluid is leaking from (front of engine, back of engine, right side, left side, etc.). Ms. Jones says the puddle seems to be coming from the left front corner of the vehi- cle and that she often hears a growling noise when driving around corners. After listening carefully to Ms. Jones, Duff suspects that the power steering sys- tem might be leaking and that the growling noise may be caused by air in the power steering system. Duff then turns the repair over to the shop’s sus- pension and steering technician. Duff discusses the symptoms with her and tells her what he thinks the problem is.