Managing Used Oil Along the Mexico-U.S. Border

Abstract

This report describes and assesses policies for management of used oil in both the U.S. and Mexico, with particular focus on the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez area. The report begins with an evaluation of Texas’s used oil management system, from the relevant used oil legislation through the resultant data reporting system to used oil management practices. Texas is part of a United States (U.S.) federal system, so Texas’ used oil management practices reflect legislation in both the U.S. and Texas. This report describes a comparable program in California to develop some comparative insight and includes data gathered from a survey of used oil programs in states around the country. Later chapters discuss the most favorable disposition for used oil, some of the challenges that exist for encouraging greater re-refining of used oil, and recommendations for accomplishing the objectives of state used oil programs. A final chapter outlines oil regulations at the Mexican federal, state, and municipal levels relevant for Ciudad Juárez and reports available used oil data collected by the Mexican federal government. The project was funded in part by the IC² Institute.