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Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation |
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Written by John Redmond
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Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation
I was
recently presented with a dilemma of sorts due to the recent change of
oxygenates in fuel from MTBE based to Ethanol, and the associated
problems with mixing the two in a marine fuel environment. There have
been many reported issues of older MTBE fuel in a boat’s fuel tank for
extended periods of time, then mixed with the current ethanol blends of
gasoline causing damage to fuel tanks and outboard engines. After
discussing my fuel concerns with several local outboard mechanics the
consensus was pretty much the same – don’t mix that old gas with the
new stuff!!! My problem was slightly more complicated in that the fuel
in the tank had also been “pre-mixed” with 2 Stroke Marine Oil used in
2 cycle outboards. Because of this mix I was unable to run this through
my truck’s tank in small amounts to slowly get rid of the gas.
So
how does one get rid of close to 50 gallons of fuel? Thirty years ago
it was probably dumped down a drainage ditch somewhere but we are
supposed to know better today. A good chunk of whatever you dump into
the ground will end up in our drinking water supply and the environment
– not an option. Rhode Islanders will certainly recall the issues
several years ago with the contamination of the local water supply in
Pascoag, RI by MTBE from a gas station.
As a Warwick Resident I
contacted the town’s recycling center and after a couple redirections I
was connected to the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation and
specifically, the Eco Depot, located at the RIRRC facility in Johnston
where I left a message.
Joe Rotello, manager of the Eco-Depot
tried regularly to contact me and when we finally were able to connect,
a very clear picture came about on what would be required by me to
safely dispose of the waste fuel. I scheduled an appointment for a
Saturday morning at the Smithfield Public Works Facility.
Arriving
early I found a short line of cars with trunks popped open and a crew
from Clean Harbors running around in Tyvek suits emptying everything
from Paint Cans and other common hazardous waste from these vehicles to
a sorting station where the items were grouped and transferred into
proper containers for future disposal. These people quickly emptied the
back of my truck (for safety reasons we all stay in our vehicles) of
nearly 50 something gallons of fuel in 6 gallon containers and have me
pull forward and out of the way while they dispose of the fuel. Did I
mention that as a Rhode Island resident – this service is provided at
no cost? Yes, free, well, our taxes pay for the service.
Not
twenty minutes later I was able to pack up my empty containers and head
on my way. Fortunately I had the opportunity to speak with Joe Rotello
for a few minutes that morning and he offered some of the benefits of
this program. It is not cheap to hire Clean Harbors and the Eco-Depot
to run 37 or so of these recovery sessions held all across the state
over the course of a year – at least when one looks at it purely from
an event cost. But the cost is a lot less than the likely damage done
to the environment and to our health and that of our children when this
waste enters the ground water. But it is also less expensive to collect
the waste for proper disposal then to try to extract these contaminates
from the landfill when dumped with household waste. Often, the
materials collected, like my fuel for example, can be reused for other
purposes from waste oil heaters to power generation. What can’t be used
or recycled will be properly disposed.
So please, dispose of
your hazardous waste properly and take full advantage of this program
offered by the state for Rhode Island residents – it costs you nothing
but your time. In the long run it will save money and the environment.
Thanks
again to the people at Eco-Depot, RIRRC, and to Joe Rotello for taking
a few minutes to discuss this program with a relative NOOB when it
comes to the finer points of “Resource Recovery” and for their work in
helping us keep OUR environment clean.
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