Used oil filter recycling process wins award

Vesco Oil Corporation recently received an Environmental Achievement Award from the Michigan-based Environmental Management Association (EMA) for its used oil filter management program. Vesco began collecting used oil filters in 1991 to complement its used oil collection program. At that time, the company identified and utilized only processing facilities that legitimately recycled all parts of the filter (paper, rubber, steel and oil). In 2003, Vesco started processing filters at its Detroit plant. Using “the Kruncher,” an existing piece of Canadian-manufactured equipment that the company specially modified and adapted, they compressed 10 to 15 filters into a brick, essentially removing all the oil, and encapsulating the paper and rubber elements. In early 2005, Vesco invested nearly a half million dollars in a bulk filter collection and handling system. The state-of-the-industry process is housed in a completely enclosed and contained structure, and effectively drains all freeflowing liquids from a filter product after it has been processed. The end product then becomes an attractive raw material for certain steel-making foundries. Vesco also provides their customers with special containers so they can cleanly and efficiently store filters at their sites. This creates greater incentive for the proper management of filters and helps keep them out of the trash. The company empties containers throughout Michigan into trucks that can carry in excess of 25,000 filters per load, and safely transports them to their Detroit location for processing. “This “cradle to cradle” philosophy has enabled us to keep significant amounts of harmful contaminants out of Michigan’s landfills and out of the ground, thereby protecting the surface and ground waters of the state,” added Eric Weiss, Vesco’s Environmental Manager. “In 2007, Vesco Oil Corporation recovered more than 80,000 gallons of used oil to be reused as an alternative industrial fuel and more than 1,000 tons of scrap steel through this process. We are proud to offer our customers recycling options that embody the true spirit of product stewardship and resource conservation.”