Sustainability In Your Ear: Colorado's First-Of-Its-Kind EPR Oil Recycling Program With David Lawes

"Americans dispose of approximately 1.3 billion gallons of used motor oil annually, but only about 800 million gallons get recycled, and most of that is burned as fuel rather than re-refined into new oil. The plastic packaging oil comes in is more problematic: most curbside programs won't accept them because residual oil contaminates other recyclables. What happens when the companies that make motor oil embrace extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws that require recycling the oil and the containers it comes in?"

"David Lawes, CEO of the Lubricants Packaging Management Association (LPMA), is leading what could become a national model for extended producer responsibility. Colorado just became the testing ground. In September 2024, five major oil companies-BP Lubricants, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Valvoline-founded LPMA as an independent producer responsibility organization."

"Lawes brings two decades of EPR policy experience to the role, including a decade regulating EPR programs in Canada. The program he ran in British Columbia achieves a 96% recycling rate for oil containers-compared to less than 1% in most U.S. states. "This is not about skirting the law or finding an easier pathway," Lawes explains. "It is about meeting the same results in an industry-friendly way.""

Approximately 1.3 billion gallons of used motor oil are disposed annually in the United States, and only about 800 million gallons are recycled, with most of the recycled oil burned as fuel rather than re-refined. Plastic oil containers often contaminate curbside recycling and are typically rejected. In September 2024 five major oil companies formed the Lubricants Packaging Management Association (LPMA) to implement a sector-specific extended producer responsibility program. Colorado offered producers a choice between the Circular Action Alliance or a specialized program; LPMA chose the latter, arguing petroleum packaging requires specialized handling. British Columbia achieved a 96% container recycling rate under an EPR program.

Read at Earth911