Used motor oil has a free disposal route almost everywhere in the United States, and it is one of the few household wastes that is genuinely valuable. Oil does not wear out in an engine, it gets dirty, and re-refining it back into base lubricant takes far less energy than making it from crude.
Where to take used motor oil
Auto parts stores. Most major auto parts chains accept used motor oil from the public free, and in many states they are required to if they sell oil. This is the default route and usually the nearest one. Call ahead only to check the quantity limit, which is typically a few gallons per visit.
Quick-lube and service garages. Many accept oil from DIY oil changes, sometimes for a small fee.
Your household hazardous waste facility. Every county has one, and it takes oil in any quantity along with the other automotive fluids.
Keep it uncontaminated or it will be refused
This is the part people get wrong. Used motor oil is accepted because it can be re-refined, and that only works if it is oil and nothing else. Do not mix it with antifreeze, brake fluid, transmission fluid, solvent, petrol, paint or water. A jug of mixed fluid is no longer recyclable oil, it is hazardous waste, and a collection point that spots it will turn you away. Use a clean container, ideally the bottle the new oil came in, and label it.
Oil filters are a separate item
A used filter holds a surprising amount of oil and is its own waste stream. Drain it upside down for several hours or overnight, which recovers most of what is in it, then take it to the same collection point. Many places that accept oil take filters as well, and the steel body is recycled once it has been drained and crushed.
Why it matters
The oil is not consumed by the engine, it is contaminated with combustion products and metal particles. Re-refining removes those and returns base oil fit for reuse. Oil poured on the ground or into a drain, by contrast, reaches groundwater and surface water readily, and the environmental agencies have long pointed out how little of it is needed to make a very large volume of water unusable.
Moving it safely
Transport oil in a sealed container that has never held food or drink, upright and in the boot rather than the cabin. Wipe the outside before it goes in the car. If you spill it, cat litter or sand absorbs it, and the used absorbent then goes to hazardous waste rather than the bin.
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