BCUOMA Ambassador Travelog

We made our first few visits to five of the return collection facilities in Vancouver this morning, with a quick stop at one of the many Starbucks in the vicinity for lunch.

While a few managers were too busy to chat with us (must be all the Mother’s Day long weekend shoppers!), we did encounter a new autobody shop interested in joining BC Used Oil’s program in becoming Vancouver’s newest used oil and antifreeze collector! You may now drop off your used oil and antifreeze materials at Autobots Automotive Repairs Ltd. nearby Main St. and 2nd Avenue.

Ali at Autobots Automotive Repairs Ltd.

Today we also visited one of Vancouver’s outstanding Return-It depots currently working with multiple stewardship programs to accept recyclable products from bottles, to paint, to electronics. Regional Recycling Vancouver is also preparing for Phase V in Product Care and the Electronic Stewardship Association of BC’s next step in increasing the variety of recyclable products!

To the left with Emily for electronics and home appliances return!

Got Junk? Ali at Regional Recycling Vancouver

Did you know?
As of July 1, 2012, Product Care and the Electronics Stewardship Association of BC (ESACBC) will begin to accept new products for recycling including (among other items) lights, GPS units, gaming systems, medical equipment, and everything with a battery or a cord. For more information about Product Care and ESABC, www.productcare.org and www.esabc.ca

We started our morning off bright and early today, venturing to the BC Used Oil headquarters in Chilliwack, BC. Arriving early before our monthly meeting with Ron Driedger, Executive Director of BCUOMA, Ali and I decided to make our first stop in Greendale to visit four handsome studs. This is Lagataro, one of Ali’s horses on her farm in Chilliwack:

After our meeting with Ron at Decades Coffee downtown, we managed to visit all 13 return collection facilities in Chilliwack. If you’re looking to drop off your used oil, used antifreeze, and/or used oil and antifreeze materials in the neighbourhood, you can find the friendly folks at any of the following locations:

• - Canada Lubeworld Inc.
• - Canadian Tire 433
• - Chilliwack Ford Sales (1981) Ltd.
• - Fraser Valley Tireland
• - Great Canadian Oil Change
• - Greendale Motors
• - Kal Tire
• - Mertin Pontiac Buick
• - Midas Auto Service Experts
• - Mr. Lube
• - O’Connor Dodge Chrysler Jeep
• - OK Tire Ltd.
• - Coast Mountain Fuels

Ali at Fraser Valley Tireland Ltd.

Emily at Greendale Motors

Ali with one of OK Tire’s tires!

For exact addresses nearest you, please consult our map finder on our homepage or the RCBC Recyclepedia!

Also be sure to follow us on Twitter @bcusedoil to see where we’ll be next!

Did you know?
More than 100 million litres of oil are sold each year in BC. Some of the oil sold is consumed in use and more than 40 million litres is collected and recycled, but almost 18 million litres is being lost through other uses, including improper deposits into our environment. Check out the “unaccounted used oil” study at usedoilrecycling.com for more information!

Yesterday was our first day visiting Return Collection Facility’s and we had a blast! We started off our day visiting M&R Environmental, where we got to see how oil and antifreeze containers, oil filters, and antifreeze are recycled.

Burnaby has 13 facilities where you can drop off your used oil materials and/or antifreeze materials:

• - Canadian Tire on Market Crossing
• - Carter Dodge Chrysler on Lougheed
• - Carter GM
• - D&R Auto Repair Limited
• - Elcam Auto Recyclers ltd.
• - Marc’s Auto Repair
• - Midas Auto Service on Kingsway
• - Midas Auto Service on Willingdon
• - Mr. Lube on Hastings
• - Mr. Lube on Kingsway
• - Still Creek Recycling Depot
• - VAP Brake and Clutch
• - and of course, M&R Environmental!

These are oil filters that have been sorted and crushed into small cubes. After they are crushed like you see above, they are placed into a bin where they will “weep” the remaining oil out into a container.

Emily and Ali in front of Elcam Auto Recyclers Ltd.

Ali goofing off at Canadian Tire

Emily at Mr. Lube!

Remember: be respectful while dropping off your used oil, oil containers, oil filters and antifreeze materials! Come during business hours and place oil in designated drop-off area. Night drop-offs outside business hours can lead to spills or contamination.

Did you know?
9% of oil remains in containers when they are discarded and about 1/4 litre of oil remains in every filter that is discarded. This is why it is so imperative that these used oil materials are successfully recycled – it all adds up!

Today kicks off our seventh annual BC Used Oil Management Association Summer Ambassador program! This summer two ambassadors (Ali Omelaniec and Emily Louie) will be travelling the province encouraging BC residents to responsibly recycle their oil and antifreeze materials at their local return collection facilities while promoting BCUOMA’s message that “one drop makes a difference”. Here is a little about us:

This Year’s Summer Ambassadors

Ali Omelaniec
Hometown: Langley, British Columbia
Age: 20

Ali is working towards her bachelor degree in Communications at Simon Fraser University and will be entering her third year next fall. She is very passionate about environmental sustainability and is looking forward to sharing BC Used Oil Management’s message with the community. In her spare time, Ali writes for the student paper, attends local music shows, and goes running in the trails of Langley, BC. Her guilty pleasure is The Hunger Games series and black tea lemonades from Starbucks.

Emily Louie
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
Age: 21

Emily is a fourth year Communication and Geography student at Simon Fraser University. Growing up in the urban environments of Vancouver, Emily is excited to explore the vastness of the province while learning about and working towards sustainability initiatives in BC. In her spare time, Emily enjoys food culture, nature, and travel, documenting her daily journeys through social media

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A Word From the Ambassadors

We are incredibly excited to be a part of this year’s BCUOMA Summer Ambassador program. This summer we will be canvassing the province and encouraging BC residents to safely recycle their used oil, oil containers, oil filters, antifreeze, and antifreeze containers.

Over the next 17 weeks, we will be visiting 120 municipalities, meeting with approximately 500 collection facilities and attending over 20 community events. We will be visiting areas such as Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, Northern BC, North and South Okanagan, the Kootenay Region and Metro Vancouver.

This week we will be visiting collection facilities in the Lower Mainland and attending a couple of fun weekend events. We will be making an appearance at the annual Fingerling Festival in Port Moody on Saturday, May 5th and the DW Poppy High School Car Show in Langley on Sunday, May 6th, accompanied by Mr. Oil Drop and our branded Ford Fusion. Hope to see you there!

We will be posting every 2-3 days on our blog (www.bcusedoil.com) or you can follow us on Twitter @bcusedoil to stay updated on our journey.

Did you know?
One drop of oil can contaminate one million litres of water.