National Ground Water Awareness Week is March 11 -17 and Victory Lane Quick Oil Change in North Branch, through its membership with the Automotive Oil Change Association, has teamed up with the National Ground Water Association to increase public awareness on the importance of the proper disposal of motor oil and other household wastes.

Since January, Victory Lane has replaced its standard reminder cards with special post cards advising customers of the importance of recycling used motor oil and reminding customers that as a community service, Victory Lane gladly accepts used motor oil from do-it-yourself oil changers free of charge.

Recycling used motor oil and proper disposal of household hazardous wastes is crucial because what is dumped on the ground, poured down the drain or thrown in the trash can end up in someone's drinking water.

In addition to being environmentally responsible, recycling used motor oil helps extend the usefulness of our petroleum resources because used motor oil is typically recycled into heating oil or asphalt processing which reduces our overall energy demand.

People are often shy about bringing their oil in. They shouldn't be, according to Victory Lane owner, Mick Ruffini, "We are more than happy to provide a safe and responsible manner to handle used oil."

Ruffini also reminded Do-it-yourself oil changers to be sure to remember to drain their oil filter and the bottles the new oil comes in.

"Normally oil bottles should be left to drain for 2 hours and at least 4 hours are required for the oil to drain out of an oil filter. A lot of people think that once the oil is poured out of a bottle the bottle is empty, but if they let the bottle sit neck down for about 2 hours, almost another full ounce will drain out of the bottle, for most vehicles, this is more than 1/2 cup of oil per oil change that could be sent to a landfill instead of being used in the engine," he said.

Victory Lane Quick Oil Change accepts used motor oil at no charge during regular business hours which are 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

More information is available on the National Groundwater Association Web site, www.wellowner.org.