Used Motor Oil Program Open

County of Maui News Release

The County of Maui’s Used Motor Oil (UMO) Program for home mechanics has been reinstated a month ahead of schedule after being suspended in February due to a lack of state funding support.

The County Council granted the Environmental Protection and Sustainability’s (EP&S) supplemental budget request of $126,875 to fund the program for the remainder of this fiscal year to continue the program, and funds for the UMO program are in the County’s FY 18 budget.

As of April 25 on Molokai, the program is available at the landfill through Recycle Molokai. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., call 553-3869 for info.

“The UMO program is one of the County’s most environmentally important recycling initiatives, as one gallon of UMO dumped on the ground has the potential to contaminate millions of gallon of water,” said Michael Miyamoto, Deputy Director of the County of Maui Department of Environmental Management. Residents who change their own motor oil turn in over 21,000 gallons of UMO per year.

A five-year contract to manage the UMO Program was awarded to Cameron Chemical Company of Oahu last fall. “Cameron has been doing an excellent job, according to reports from County landfill staff and the businesses who host the sites,” said Hana Steel, Program Manager for UMO. “We’re grateful to the businesses that host the drop-off sites. Without their participation we would not have an effective program.”

Steel noted that an upcountry UMO site is needed, and asked interested businesses to call the Recycling Maui County Hotline at 270-7880. For more information, visit mauicounty.gov/recycle.