Thirty nine billion: that’s the staggering
amount of motor oil used by engines worldwide annually, and most of this is
used just once and then treated as waste. Think about the sort of environmental
impact this would have on Mother Nature from the pollution it causes to the
reduction of the already dwindling supply of the world’s crude oil. And even
when used motor oil is disposed of properly, it is simply burned off into the
atmosphere, contributing to the already worsening problem of global warming.
Nonetheless, the world runs on oil—that’s a
fact of life. However, there must be a way to reduce the world’s dependency as
well as minimize the environmental impact caused by the seemingly insatiable
appetite for crude oil. One company has started the first step, and it comes
from a very unlikely industry: petrochemicals. The company is Ashland
Incorporated and its solution: Valvoline NextGen.