JASPER, Tenn. — Randy Hampton’s trucking company in Marion County, Tenn., was one of two private Tennessee businesses to obtain state grants recently to recycle oil.
“We change oil every 15,000 miles, and they hold about 10 gallons apiece,” Mr. Hampton said of his fleet of 25 tractortrailers.
Hampton Trucking LLC got the same grant about 10 years ago, said Mr. Hampton, who owns the company with his brother Wes.
The grant will double the company’s capacity to dispose of used oil, he said.
The company’s trucks make daily trips of up to 650 miles, so mileage and dirty oil accumulates quickly, he said.
The $9,135 grant reimburses the company’s investment in a state-installed storage tank and oil heater, Mr. Hampton said. The oil heater burns cleanly and heats the company’s shop while keeping waste oil from polluting groundwater, he said.
Hampton Trucking is one of nine businesses in Marion County with collection facilities, according to the Tennessee Department of Conservation’s Web site. The TDEC database also lists wrecker services, auto service stations and parts stores, a couple of fire halls and the county highway department as collection points in Marion County.
The Hamptons are required to accept oil from the public, depending on available storage room, Mr. Hampton said.
Gov. Phil Bredesen’s office and TDEC issued $468,335 in grants to 29 oil collection centers, mostly city- or countyowned facilities. Hampton Trucking and Dixon Tractor Repair in Lawrence County were the only private companies awarded grants in this round, records show.
“This is a very straightforward approach to dealing with a potential cause of pollution, and it has a direct positive impact on the water quality of our lakes, streams and groundwater in Tennessee,” Gov. Bredesen said in a news release.
TDEC spokeswoman Meg Lockhart said grants go to one or two private businesses every year.
The Hampton’s use of old oil for heat is “a great example of how you recycle oil,” Ms. Lockhart said.
BY THE NUMBERS
1 million gallons:
Amount of used oil produced each year by doit-yourselfers in Tennessee
1 gallon: Can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water
1 gallon: Amount of used oil needed to produce 2.5 quarts of high-quality lubricating oil
42 gallons: Amount of crude oil needed to produce 2.5 quarts of high-quality lubricating oil
Source: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
TO LEARN MORE
Used oil recycling:
www.state.tn.us /environment/swm/oil
Find recycling centers:
http://www.state.tn.us/ environment/swm/oil/oildrop.shtml
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. Benton ...
