Mechanical Shops Are Going Green by Roberto Michel, editor The most effective "environmentalists" with whom average Americans come in contact may be the service professionals who maintain their vehicles.
But ask the owners of mechanical repair facilities about their "green" efforts and you're not likely to hear words such as "source reduction" come rolling off their tongues. Instead, you hear about practical methods to clean up parts and spills, or about recycling equipment that offers a valuable service to sell.
Recycling has generally been a success in the mechanical repair industry. Recovery/recycling of refrigerant is both the law and the norm. Used motor oil is typically shipped off-site for recycling or burned on-site in heaters. A recent study by the American Petroleum Institute (API) puts the amount of used oil handled by professional service outlets in 1993 at 240 million gallons, a figure that takes into account losses to combustion and leaks in vehicles, and a liberal estimate of 50 percent of the motor oil market going to do-it-yourselfers (DIYs).
Another success has been used oil filters. The first filters were recycled in 1991 and today the Filter Manufacturers Council (FMC) reports one-fourth of all used oil filters are recycled.
Recycling efforts by service professionals should be communicated to customers. Larry Moore, president of Larry's AutoWorks in Mountain View, Calif., makes sure to educate customers about recycling concerns.
"On the front end, we take the time to educate our customers, especially new customers. For instance, with coolant, if it doesn't get serviced it can get so corroded that it must be disposed of as hazardous waste," said Moore.
Moore, who has won awards for the green practices at his facility, is an example of a shop owner who has taken practical measures to prevent pollution. So have many others. The green practices of a few Automotive Service Association (ASA) members show ways to balance compliance with business concerns.
Cleanup Detail
The ways in which parts are cleaned and spills are taken care of are important ó but sometimes overlooked ó pollution prevention areas.For instance, using a solvent-based parts washer with a lid and filtering unit can dramatically reduce solvent use compared to using an open basin and solvent. Parts washers may be leased with a service agreement or purchased and serviced in-house.
Some practices are simply common sense. As pointed out in "Vehicle Maintenance Pollution Prevention," a pollution prevention manual published by the Iowa Waste Reduction Center (see below), if you use a parts washer, simple steps such as extending service intervals and draining parts thoroughly before removing them from the wash basin can minimize solvent use.
Another tip is to use the least toxic cleaner possible. The nastiest cleaners are halogenated solvents that contain halogens such as chlorine. Less toxic solvents include mineral oil, stoddard solvent and terpene solvents. Aqueous cleaners are less toxic, water-based alternatives that can be used in parts washers.
At Houska Automotive Services in Fort Collins, Colo., the facility uses two hot-soap parts washers for cleaning parts, says owner Dennis Houska. The only toxic solvent used at the shop is in a dip tank used to clean carburetors. This tank is maintained by a recycling service.
"About the only thing we use the dip tank for is cleaning carburetors, and we are using that less with more vehicles in use today being fuel-injected," said Houska. "We find that for everything else, the hot-soap washers work fine."
Rather than use disposable aerosol cans for degreasing tasks, Houska has switched to refillable spray canisters that use compressed air as propellant. The cans help reduce pollution because there are no cans to dispose of and the propellant is harmless.
At Francis Automotive in West Chester, Pa., spills are kept to a minimum and cleaned up immediately. Cleaning is done with a mop and the use of an absorbent "floor-dry" product, says John Francis, president of the business.
"We just don't have that many spills. I think we used one bag of floor-dry last year," said Francis. "We keep the floors clean and that keeps the customers' cars clean. It's just the way we do things around here."
At Moore's facility, local regulations mandate that spills be cleaned up immediately. Floor drains and hosing down dirty floors are allowed, but only if complicated measures are taken to separate and filter oily waste. As a result, the weekly ritual of cleaning the shop floor is long-gone, says Moore. Oily spills are picked up using a "hydrophobic" mop that absorbs oil but repels water. The oil from the mop is extracted and placed in the used oil barrel for recycling. A cotton mop is used for coolant spills, with this liquid going into the coolant recycling barrel. If there is oily residue in the mop water, the hydrophobic mop can skim it off before it's placed in the coolant barrel. In addition, oily shop rags are laundered by a qualified service.
"It's different from what we used to do. It takes some getting used to, but actually, it's less work and it eliminates the problem of oil being tracked all along the floor," says Moore. An added bonus, says Moore is, "we get comments about how our shop floor looks like the floor of an operating room."
Used Oil As Fuel
Waste oil heaters are popular in cold climates. Both Houska and Francis use these heaters and say the quality of the units has improved greatly in the past 10 to 12 years. Nationally, API estimates 17.3 percent of used oil is disposed of by heaters.Francis uses three used oil heaters in three production areas at his shop. He estimates 95 percent of the heating in these areas is accomplished with the used oil heaters. Francis says the units are relatively trouble-free.
"Just like any other machinery, they have to be maintained. But if you take care of them, they won't break down," said Francis.
Houska says a testing of the stack emissions from the heaters at his shop proved the units were burning acceptably clean.
Recycle That coolant
On-site antifreeze/coolant recycling equipment is available to shops from a wide variety of vendors. Some units recycle a batch of recovered used coolant, while others hook up to the car to provide a flush and filter service. Some shops choose to collect coolant and have a service take it off-site for recycling.Houska uses an on-the-car filtration/recycle machine and says he is pleased with the compliance and service benefits it provides.
"Recycling coolant just makes sense, both in a business sense and for the environment. It provides a good service that you can sell," said Houska.
Used antifreeze, under federal law, is generally not considered a hazardous waste. Coolant may become hazardous due to contaminants picked up through long-term use or neglect.
Spreading The Word
Planning and communication is a key part of pollution prevention in automotive service facilities, says John D. Works, a senior Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) officer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).Works says that even though products such as hot-soap washers and used oil heaters are good ideas, it's important to remember that no machine will magically get rid of hazardous waste. For instance, parts washers generate sludge that may need testing to see if it's hazardous and used oil heaters are subject to requirements as well.
"There is no magic box that takes hazardous waste and turns it into a harmless material. Pollution prevention comes down to common sense, good management practices and delegating responsibility down to the individual level," said Works.
Customers, especially potential customers, should also hear about a shop's pollution prevention efforts. For example, Larry's AutoWorks is involved in the Bay area's "Clean Bay" program for businesses. Clean Bay patches worn by the staff and a sign in the waiting area let Moore's customers know his business is doing its best to protect the waters of San Francisco Bay. Larry's Autoworks is also a used oil collection site, which gives the shop publicity through a list of such sites distributed by county government.
A newsletter that Francis provides to customers lets them know about his environmental efforts. At Houska's shop, the "on-hold" telephone message tells customers about his recycling efforts. Houska is also a member of an environmental advisory panel for Larimer County, Colo.
Fort Collins is home to a university and many environmentally concerned residents, says Houska. His shop's pollution prevention efforts are attractive to these types of customers.
"When I think about it, there are quite a few new customers who say our environmental efforts are the main reason they picked us. But good service is what keeps them coming back," said Houska.
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AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLIV No. 10, October 1996