Randolph County Closes the Oil Recycling Circle

	Auburn, May 30, 2002 --- Many people worry about environmental problems, it seems, 

but few do anything about it. 

One Cooperative Extension agent recently decided to do to something about it. 
After attending a statewide Project Rose meeting last summer in Columbiana, Stan 
Roark, a Randolph County Extension agent, decided young people needed to be alerted to the 
environmental hazards associated with the improper disposal of used motor oil. Operated by the 
University of Alabama, Project Rose is a statewide effort to sponsor used oil recycling education 
and to develop programs alerting Alabamians about the serious environmental risks associated 
with used motor oil. 
Studies have shown 1 gallon of motor oil has the potential to contaminate up to 1 million 
gallons of freshwater – all the more reason, Roark believes, why young Alabamians should be 
educated about this problem. 
“Sometimes we have these big environmental problems, and we ask, ‘What can we do?’” 
Roark says.  “This just struck me as a very creative way to do something about the environment 
rather than just talking about it.” 
Roark, along with fellow agent Chris Hardin, first pitched the idea of an oil recycling 
program to the Upper Tallapoosa Watershed Committee. 
The response, as he recalls, was “tremendous.”
With support from Project Rose, the Alabama Department of Environmental 
Management, the Upper Tallapoosa Watershed Committee, Soil and Water Conservation 
Districts, Alabama Power and Walmart, Roark organized a countywide competition among local 
school students, offering financial rewards to schools collecting the most used oil.
With help from Missy Middlebrooks of the Alabama Department of Environmental 
Management who tailored educational materials to meet local needs, Roark and Hardin met with 
1200 4-H members and presented coursework about oil recycling.
Funding provided by Project Rose also enabled members of the Upper Tallapoosa 
Watershed Committee to establish collection sites at eight automotive shops in Roanoke, 
Wedowee, Wadley and Woodland.
In the course of the competition, participating schools collected more than 760 gallons of 
used oil, potentially safeguarding more than 760 million gallons of fresh water.
Woodland High School, which collected 399 gallons, won the contest.
Organizers say the effort already is being used as a model in other counties to alert 
people about the importance of oil recycling.
“One reason we like working with Extension agents is because they know people in their 
county like the back of their hands,” she adds.  “They know people and how things work in their 
county, and that makes it so much easier for Project Rose to come and set up a recycling 
program.”
“I’d love to see more people around the state learn about Stan’s efforts with Project Rose 
so that we could get every county involved in setting up collection sites,” says Sheri Powell, state 
coordinator for Project Rose.
 “Every drop of recycled motor oil is saving water and preventing property damage.  Most 
people don’t consider oil as part of the recycling circle, but it certainly is, and we need to let them 
know how important it is to recycle every drop that they can.”
(Source: Stan Roark, Randolph County Extension Agent, 256-357-2841)