Monona Golf Course Public Drop Off Site for Used Motor Oil

The City of Madison has four public drop-off sites where residents can dispose of used motor oil. A fifth site is operated by Dane County. These sites are situated throughout the City of Madison and are open 24 hours a day. Each site contains a waste oil collection tank and receptacles for disposal of empty used oil filters and non-oily waste. Used motor oil can be re-refined into base stock for lubricating oil and other uses. For that reason, the City of Madison has contracted with Safety Kleen, of Madison, WI, to collect and recycle the used motor oil from these sites in accordance with all state and federal regulations. Safety Kleen collects the used oil from each of the public drop-off sites once every two weeks. Before collecting the oil, a sample is collected from each and every tank and analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other contaminates that could deem the used oil unsuitable for recycling or is harmful to human health. On October 4, 2012, Safety Kleen emptied the used oil tank located next to the Monona Golf Course on the corner of Monona Drive and East Dean Avenue. Before emptying the tank, a sample was collected for analysis. Results of the analysis indicated that the oil in the tank contained 78 parts per million (ppm) of PCBs (specifically Aroclor 1260). Subsequent samples have confirmed the presence of this PCB in the tank. Before being banned almost entirely in the U.S. in 1979, PCBs were used in a variety of commercial applications. Although their current commercial use is restricted in the U.S., they continue to be a common environmental contaminant because they do not readily break down. Because of the hazardous and persistent nature of PCBs, the City is taking all precautions to ensure public safety. The tank has been temporarily closed and locked down from public access and the City is working closely with several contractors to ensure that the tank is adequately cleaned. During this period, the City is staging 55-gallon drums at the site for the collection of used motor oil. For more information on PCBs visit: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/index.htm http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/hlthhaz/fs/pcblink.htm For more information on the City of Madison waste oil drop-off sites visit: http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/hazardous/wasteoil.cfm and http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/documents/recyclopedia.pdf For more information on used motor oil recycling visit: http://www.recycleoil.org/