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Can You Recycle Used Motor Oil? Used motor oil can be ‘re-refined’ and used again. Used motor oil can and should be recycled. It poses significant health and environmental risks if discarded improperly, and it offers a more efficient, less carbon-intensive alternative to making new motor oil from scratch. What Is Motor Oil? Motor oil is any oil used as an engine lubricant. It typically includes gasoline- and diesel-engine crankcase oils, as well as piston-engine oils for cars, trucks, boats, airplanes, locomotives, and heavy equipment, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Motor oils may be petroleum-based or synthetic, although synthetic oils are still primarily made from fossil fuel sources. Motor oil itself is highly durable, but its dirty job still takes a toll. During normal use inside your engine, motor oil accumulates impurities ranging from dust and dirt to metal scrapings and various chemicals, eventually impeding its lubrication. On top of its own toxic

How to Recycle Laptops Safely and Responsibly Plus ideas for reusing your old laptop. Old laptops are typically not accepted in curbside recycling programs, but they can be processed through special e-waste recycling programs. And because laptops may contain valuable materials, including gold, silver, and platinum, recycling them is actually profitable, which means plenty of eager recyclers are willing to take them off your hands.  Since laptops do contain heavy metals and hazardous chemicals that can negatively impact the environment, they should be handled carefully and recycling should be left to the professionals. Laptop Recycling Facts Generally, all parts of a laptop are recyclable. Laptops consist of things like glass, metal, batteries, and electronic parts that can all be recycled at specialized facilities. Some of a laptop’s electronic parts, like motherboards and hard drives, can even be sold and reused in refurbished products. How to Prepare Your Laptop for Recycling Your la

How to Recycle Light Bulbs and Why You Should All types of light bulbs are recyclable, even those that contain traces of mercury. In fact, some types of light bulbs must be recycled—when tossed in the trash, they leach environmentally harmful chemicals into the soil and groundwater. How to Recycle Light Bulbs Each type of light bulb is recycled differently and each state and municipality has different requirements and recycling programs in place. While your curbside pickup recycling program may accept LED light bulbs, it typically will not take incandescent or CFL bulbs that may contain hazardous chemicals. Many states have specific recycling programs available for these materials. Incandescent Light Bulbs An incandescent light bulb consists of a glass enclosure containing a filament typically made from tungsten, a metal with a high melting point. When you turn an incandescent light bulb on, a current passes through the filament and heats it until it’s white-hot and produces visible li

Top Famous Horses From History In the long history of domestic horses as our companions, there have been many standout superstars. Humans domesticated horses somewhere around 3,000 BCE, and since that time the horse has been one of our closest allies in work, war, travel and entertainment. Over these many thousands of years and millions of equines living alongside us, there have been quite a few standouts. Be it their speed, strength, smarts or simply their good looks or loyalty, the stories of a few special horses have become popular and stood the test of time. From horses living in ancient times whose memory still lives on today to beloved television stars of the 20th century, here are 12 celebrities from the equine world whose stories you want to know about. Figure While many people have likely heard of the Morgan horse breed—one of the earliest breeds developed in the United States—far fewer know about the much loved horse who started the lineage, Figure. Figure was a small bay sta

Dairy Farming: Environmental Impact, Ethics, and Industry Outlook How much does dairy farming contribute to global warming? Dairy farming is the practice of raising and breeding livestock to produce milk for human consumption. While the industry isn't going away any time soon, plant-based milk alternatives such as soy, almond, and oat milk have created a competitive market, driving down the rate of cow’s milk consumption in recent years. Given the dairy industry's tremendous land and water use and the substantial amount of methane produced from cows, this might be considered a gradual environmental win. How environmentally taxing is dairy farming? Here, we review the impacts and ethics of this sector of agriculture, the competition between small and large dairy farms, and the future of the industry. Processes of Dairy Farming Dairy farmers manage every aspect of a cow’s life—from what they eat and how much space they’re allotted to how much time cows spend with their offspring

Top Things That Aren't Recyclable We've all probably been guilty of this recycling no-no at least once — discarding a disposable coffee cup or food takeout container in our bin. While you may be thinking you're doing your part to help, your optimistic recycling may actually be hurting the process. Depending on where you live, there are some items that simply aren't recyclable, including varieties of paper, glass and plastic. Check with your city service provider to know specifics, but here's a list of items that generally are not recyclable, along with suggestions on how you can dispose or reuse them. Aerosol Cans Sure, they're metal. But since spray cans also contain propellants and chemicals, most municipal systems treat them as hazardous material. Batteries These are generally handled separately from both regular trash and curbside recycling. Brightly Dyed Paper Strong paper dyes work just like that red sock in your white laundry. Ceramics and Pottery This in

Scientists Create 100% Biodegradable Paper Straws That Don’t Get Soggy The strong paper straws are easy to make and degrade to nothing. Eco enthusiasts who've already eschewed straws may wonder what the point is in developing new ones. But for anyone unable or unwilling to abide by a soggy paper straw, a strong yet fully biodegradable one has been invented by scientists at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT). The discovery comes from the joint research team of Dr. Oh Dongyeop and Dr. Kwak Hojung of KRICT and Professor Park Jeyoung of Sogang University. The new straws are easy to mass-produce and could fill the gap between consumers wanting a rigid straw and regulations on plastic straws in restaurants and cafés. Changing consumer habits and weaning the world off straws would be the best-case scenario (with an exception for those who rely on straws for health and other reasons). But in the meantime, a truly biodegradable straw that can stand up to the complai