Valvoline Global Operations is working on the molecular make-up of its products to be more energy efficient, but one area that Roger England, vice president and chief R&D officer, wants to change is packaging. With motor oil in particular, it is formulated to stick to engine components, but that doesn’t help when you’re trying to recycle a bottle of that product.
“Plastic recyclers don’t want that bottle with that oil inside it, but we don’t want to change the oil because we want it to hang on that engine. So, what we have to do is look at the packaging,” he explains.
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Steel cans, aluminum cans or even coatings for the inside of a bottle that would repel oil are a few technologies Valvoline Global Operations is evaluating. England says he feels that the whole aftermarket can work on creating more environmentally friendly, recyclable packaging to aid in meeting sustainability goals.
“A huge opportunity for us is to become more green in packaging and do more recycling of aftermarket oil containers,” he says. “When I look at areas of low-hanging fruit, that’s one of them. OEMS are always pushing for better fuel economy. They want that because they have CAFE standards that they have meet, so there’s a champion in that space. Where you don’t have a champion is somebody pushing packaging. That’s why we’re spending time on it because we want to be doing the right thing for the environment.”