You do not have to wait for your local HHW collection event to dispose of used motor oil or filters, as these can be recycled at any of the 80+ Certified Used Oil Collection Centers in Ventura County. Certified Centers do not require appointments for drop-off services, making them a more convenient option for used oil recycling than the scheduled Hazardous Waste Collection Events sponsored by your local government. Additionally, Certified Centers are required by the state to offer $0.40 per-gallon, in either cash or service voucher, for used oil upon request.

CalRecycle has compiled a convenient Database of State Certified Collection Centers to easily find locations near you, searchable by zip code.

Call your local Certified Center ahead of time to verify their hours of service, tank capacity, and whether or not they collect oil filters from the public. Certified Centers are not required to accept more than 5-gallons of used oil per person, per day. Please ensure any oil you drop off is free of contaminants such as water, gasoline, antifreeze, or solvents. Contaminated oil and other types of hazardous waste may be disposed of at your local HHW collection facility. For more information, please click here.

Do not leave oil, filters, or containers at your local Certified Collection Centers outside their regular business hours, as the illegal dumping of hazardous materials carries a fine of up to $10,000.

Oil is a finite resource that is becoming more costly to acquire over time. Luckily, used oil can be recycled to create a wide variety of products; either by reprocessing through blending used oil with virgin stock for industrial heating fuel or in the creation of new lubricating oils by removing accumulated particulates, replacing additives, and re-refining.

Improper disposal of even one quart of used oil, either by pouring it into the storm drain or sewer, onto the ground, or throwing it in the trash, is enough to potentially contaminate nearly three football fields of water surface, or approximately 250,000-gallons of groundwater. By utilizing your local Certified Collection Center network or Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers, you are ensuring that your used oil products are properly reused and kept out of California waters.

While not regulated as hazardous waste, pouring used cooking oil and grease down the sink can wreak havoc on residential plumbing and the municipal sewer system, creating enormous clogs as the fats combine with other solid wastes and solidify. If possible, used cooking oil and grease should be taken to a recycler.

By appointment, Coastal Byproducts in Oxnard accepts small quantities of residentially generated cooking oil during business hours, Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., even providing a pickup service to generators with an excess of 20-gallons, completely free of charge. All deposited oils are refined into clean biodiesel. If Oxnard is too far away from your location, one of their restaurant partners may offer a more convenient drop-off option closer to your city.

For more information, Coastal Byproducts may be contacted directly at (805) 845-8086 or by visiting their website here.

If your only option is to throw away your used cooking oil, there are a variety of products on the market that enable your used cooking oil to be safely disposed of with your residential trash. FryAway, Hard Oil, and Quickshine are just a few examples of coagulants that will turn hot cooking oil into a solid brick as the mixture cools to room temperature. While those products are advertised to be vegetable-based and environmentally friendly, their formulas are proprietary and unverified. A readily available and cost-effective alternative to these products is stearic acid, a vegetable-based emulsifier commonly used in soap and candle making. When mixed into hot cooking oil, stearic acid will raise the melting point high enough that it will solidify at room temperature, rendering it safe for disposal in your trash can. Whichever method you choose, solidifying cooking oil before disposal is a much cleaner and environmentally friendly option compared to throwing away a container of liquid kitchen waste.

There are three collection centers located in Ventura County specifically for used oil and filters from agricultural generators. Agricultural used oil collection centers do not offer a recycling incentive payment and are not open to the general public. Contaminated oil is not accepted – please contact a registered hazardous waste hauler for disposal.

According to CalRecycle, agricultural used oil generators may self-haul up to 55-gallons of used motor oil without registering as a licensed hazardous waste hauler, but if all four of the following conditions are met:

1. 1. The capacity of any single container does not exceed 55-gallons.
   2. The total of each shipment of used oil does not exceed 55-gallons.
   3. The person transporting the used oil has generated the used oil.
   4. The person transporting the used oil does not transport greater than 55-gallons of used oil, and does not transport any used oil in any container exceeding 55-gallons in capacity, without first contacting the destination location and verifying that the location will accept the used oil.

Assuming all of the above conditions are met, agricultural generators within Ventura County may transport up to 55-gallons of used oil to one of the Collection Centers below. Please call ahead to verify operating hours, the quantity accepted by the Collection Center, and their remaining tank capacity.

Bunnin Chevrolet              Silvas Oil Company, Inc.       LBL Equipment
              1024 E. Ventura St.             1757 E. Wooley Rd.                   4755 E. Los Angeles Ave.
Fillmore, CA 93015              Oxnard, CA 93030                    Somis, CA 93066
(805) 524-0333                    (805) 486-4581                          (805) 386-3250

The following locations accept used motor oil and oil filters from boaters for proper disposal. Do not leave used oil or oil filters after hours. Contaminated oil and other types of hazardous waste are not accepted, but boaters may dispose of these materials at their local HHW collection facility. For more information, please click here.

Ventura Harbor                                   Ventura Port District Collection Facility
Dave’s Marine                                        1431 Spinnaker Drive
1404 Anchor’s Way                                (Slip Tenants Only)
(805) 644-6776                                       (805) 642-8618

Channel Islands Harbor                     Lake Casitas
Harbor Department Fuel Dock            Lake Casitas Marina & Boat Rentals
3855 Pelican Way                                   11311 Santa Ana Road
(805) 382-3011                                        (805) 649-2043

Bilge Water Pump-Out Facility
A bilge pump-out station is available to all boaters, free of charge, at the Channel Islands Harbor Department Administration Dock, located next to the Harbor Department Fuel Dock at 3855 Pelican Way. Use of this facility prevents oil, diesel, and other hazardous liquids from being pumped into our sensitive waters and reduces wear and tear on a boat’s bilge pump. Boaters using this facility are reminded not to use detergents or degreasers in their bilges as it interferes with the oil and water separation process of the facility equipment.

There are several outlets in Ventura County for local pilots and aircraft owners to properly recycle their used oil products. Facilities set up at the Camarillo and Oxnard Airports are equipped with drums for used engine oil as well as containers for oil filters. Aircraft used oil collection locations do not offer a recycling incentive payment and are not open to the general public.

For more information, aircraft tenants at Camarillo and Oxnard Airports can contact their main office by phone below or by visiting the Ventura County Department of Airports here.

Camarillo Airport                                      Oxnard Airport
(805) 388-4497                                             (805) 382-3022

Aircraft tenants at the Santa Paula Airport can take their used oil and filters to one of the State Certified Collection Centers located in the city.

Pilots and aircraft owners are also free to utilize the State Certified Collection Centers located throughout Ventura County. Contaminated oil and other types of hazardous waste are prohibited from these locations, but may be disposed of at your local HHW collection facility. For more information, please click here.

Disclaimer

The information contained on this website is intended for educational purposes only. As such, any reference to specific companies, brand names, or products should not be construed as an endorsement or favoring by the County of Ventura.