The British Columbia Used Oil Management Association travelled to Sooke on May 25 for the Every Drop Counts campaign.
The non-profit organization oversees the recycling of used oil and used antifreeze materials in the province in an effort to facilitate and increase collection of the products.
The BCUOMA's seventh annual Summer Ambassador Program, which runs from May to August, sent two representatives on behalf of the organization to 500 recycling facilities in 120 different municipalities.
Sooke's Evergreen Auto Centre served as one of the 500 destinations. The autobody centre was not a member of the BCUOMA program, but did have a recycling program in place for used oil and antifreeze.
Now, as a member, the local autobody centre will receive an additional 10 cents per litre of oil returned and 15 cents per litre of antifreeze. It will also be listed on the BCUOMA database as a return collection facility.
The aim of the campaign is to increase public awareness, and encourage recycling of used oil and antifreeze in each locality to ensure the hazardous materials do not end up in land fills, environment or bodies of water causing contamination.
"Basically, what we want to do is to make it as easy as possible for the public to come back and recycle," said Ali Omelaniec, BCUOMA ambassador. "The closer that it is to somebody's house, the more likely it is they're going to go to recycle there."
British Columbians have successfully recycled 73 per cent of used oil, 87 per cent of oil filters, and 87 per cent of used oil and antifreeze containers, but approximately 18 million litres of oil is not recovered each year.
The BCUOMA is approved by the provincial government and operates on a nominal user pay levy called the Environmental Handling Charges charged at the first point of sale for new oil.
Different government-approved collectors pick up oil from different return collection facilities, and bring them to be reproduced into saleable products by government-approved processors. All parties are registered with the BCUOMA.
More information is available at: www.usedrecycling.com