[Durham INC] parking lot oil changes

[Will Wilson]

 From the Herald-Sun:

How many generations will pay for your next oil change?
Aug. 28, 2013 @ 12:59 PM

By Bill Anderson, guest columnist
DURHAM —

You are due for an oil change, and you have a few choices. You could 
pull into one of the shops that promise a five-minute change, or visit 
your usual mechanic or do it yourself.

Perhaps you stop at an auto parts store to pick up four quarts of oil, 
and discover another choice. Street Mechanics.

Similar to shade tree mechanics, these men stand near auto parts stores 
hoping to work for folks just like you. You wanted to save some money, 
but weren't looking forward to the messy job, and they are certainly 
less expensive than the other choices.

The mechanic suggests you bring your car to another location, probably 
someone else's parking lot, since the auto parts stores do what they can 
to stop this illegal practice.  What's the harm?  Sure, there will be no 
warrantee on the work, but changing oil is a pretty simple job.  You'll 
pay cash, and the mechanic likely won't declare that income, but the 
government will survive. He flies below the City's radar as well, since 
no tax license is on file for him. With no taxes withheld, he might make 
pretty good money.

  But since his income stream is invisible, perhaps he gets food stamps 
and rental assistance, and that means there's less assistance available 
for the folks who really need it. There's also less work available to 
the legitimate mechanics, who pay taxes and contribute to the community 
in many other ways, such as rent and providing jobs.

You decide to save 10 bucks, the job is finished quickly and you never 
got your hands dirty!  You drive away happy, but what have you really done?

Perhaps that street mechanic does contribute in a way you never 
imagined. Maybe after you leave, he dumps your used oil on the nearest 
grassy area he can find. It will seep into the soil pretty quickly, and 
he'll be ready for his next customer!

I wish this were only speculation, but sadly it is happening every day 
and worse yet, in an area that drains into Ellerbe Creek. Our storm 
water department has evaluated one grassy area no larger than a parking 
space, and estimated the cleanup at $50,000. An auto parts stores has 
accepted cleaning up that spot, but that's not the only contaminated 
soil caused by these illegal mechanics.

Since one single quart of used motor oil contaminates one million 
gallons of drinking water, we really need to find a solution.  If we do, 
we'll be the first city to figure out how to stop this problem. 
According to my research, it stymies every city department.

You can't expect police to sit all day in the parking lot, and storm 
water can't prevent the damage they report.

We are literally at the mercy of the auto parts stores themselves to 
enforce the signs they all have posted. But these mechanics buy parts 
from them, and sometimes the mechanics award cashiers for business sent 
their way.

There is one other solution.  We are the prospective customers, and if 
none of us hires these illegal mechanics, they would soon disappear.  If 
you see them loitering at the parts store, or if a cashier suggests 
using one, report that to management. Not just the store manager, 
because sometimes they aren't inclined to chase off their most frequent 
customers. Report it as high up the corporate ladder as you can.

For the sake of future generations, don't sacrifice their drinking water 
in an effort to save yourself 10 bucks today.

By the way, I wrote this a couple weeks ago and was inspired to submit 
it thanks to a similar article submitted by our Public Works pollution 
prevention coordinator, Emily Rhode. That article ran in The Durham 
Herald section of The Herald-Sun on Aug. 25. Kuddos to you and your 
department Emily!  Together, we can protect our drinking water.

Bill Anderson is a long-time Durham activist and a past president of the 
InterNeighborhood Council.

-- 
http://www.biology.duke.edu/wilson/
New Book: http://www.constructedclimates.org/