Awareness and responsibility for our own actions is the key to protecting and sustaining the environment and the world we live in. The little things we all do when it comes to throwing away garbage or spilling something small may not ruin ocean life or contaminant the water for an entire community, but together our actions do make a major impact. August is National Water Quality Month and our auto repair shop tries to do our part in being responsible with our oil and fluid disposal during vehicle services . We believe that all businesses and personal habits need accountability and this month is the perfect time to make sure that you and your auto repair shop are properly disposing of fluids during exchanges and other routine vehicle maintenance services and doing your part to ensure that these oils and fluids do not enter and contaminate groundwater sources.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, every gallon of used motor oil that is improperly discarded can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water. Some car fluids like transmission fluid, power steering fluid, gear oil, motor oil and antifreeze can be processed and recycled into new fluids, although not all auto repair shops do.  Fuel and other flammable liquids are considered hazardous and, therefore, must be stored and disposed of properly, but many of them can be recycled or reused as alternative fuels. Speak with your trusted auto mechanic to see what they can reuse and how you should properly dispose of car fluids. Because we constantly come into contact with so many different vehicle fluids, auto repair shops can make either a positive or a negative impact on drinking water sources in the vicinity.

According to one online article, the phrase “water quality” refers to a set of standards used to assess the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of water in relation to the environment and any human need or purpose.  Fluids and oils can seep into groundwater thus affecting the water sources and even tap water. The United Nations has declared 2005-2015 an International Decade for Action “Water for Life” in order to emphasize the importance of water quality as it relates to sanitation, human rights, geography, urbanization and sustainability. This doesn’t exclude our own business and personal habits. Here at our Tempe auto repair shop, we recycle, reuse and dispose of fluids properly and do our part. We hope your shop does too. There are some safety and environmental concerns for those who perform routine maintenance at home too:  do not pour fluids into the ground or leave on the floors. Obviously, the practice of dumping old oil onto the ground, into storm sewers or anywhere other than environmentally safe places is a bad idea as well. Properly disposing of your oils and fluids may take an extra step, but when it comes to protecting the quality of our drinking water sources, it is well worth the effort.