Canadian Company Launches World’s First Eco-Friendly Bilge Oil Collector

New "Bilge Oil Collector," to be introduced this week, could keep more than 62,000 gallons of oil out of the world's oceans every week.

(PRWEB) November 18, 2009

A small Canadian company has pioneered an innovative device that proponents say could prevent millions of gallons of oil from entering the world’s oceans, just as the U.S. Coast Guard introduces tough new measures to prevent marine oil pollution.

Fast Oil Recovery Systems (FORS), based on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, will officially launch sales of its Bilge Oil Collector at this month’s Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle. The unassuming device, which is no larger than a box of mandarin oranges, is being hailed as the first truly eco-friendly solution to one of the world’s most damaging marine pollutants.

“Bilge oil has been killing marine wildlife and polluting our oceans for far too long,” says Bob Elliott, vice-president of FORS and the visionary behind the Bilge Oil Collector. “Our goal is to stop bilge oil pollution entirely by making it more convenient and cost effective for boat operators to protect the environment than to damage it.”

Bilge oil is generally a mixture of heavy fuel and lubricant oil that leaks out of a ship’s inboard engine and collects in the bilge, where it mixes with run-off water that must be somehow decontaminated before being pumped overboard.

Regulations have long been in place to prevent the discharge of oily water into the environment, including strict new U.S. Coast Guard standards for bilge oil/water separators that take effect November 12. Still, illegally dumped bilge oil accounts for four times the pollution of all the world’s oil spills and kills an estimated 300,000 seabirds every year off the eastern coast of Canada alone, according to the World Wildlife Federation.

“If one single drop of bilge oil enters our oceans, that’s too much,” says Elliott, noting that a spill the size of a quarter is enough to kill a bird.

Traditional methods for removing oil from bilge water, including absorbent pads and special filters, can cost boat operators more than $2,000 every year. While these systems do remove oil effectively, says Elliott, they’re expensive, and the oil-soaked pads and filters generally end up in a landfill where they continue to degrade the environment for years.

The FORS Bilge Oil Collector removes 99.9 percent of the oil in a ship’s bilge and is the first system that actually collects the oil for recycling as a valuable resource. The device, which runs on solar power, can be programmed to automatically remove up to two gallons of oil a day and requires no maintenance other than periodically emptying the reservoir.

“What’s unbelievable is that no one thought of this sooner,” says Elliott. “The Bilge Oil Collector generally pays for itself in just six months, and each unit is going to keep hundreds of gallons of oil out of our oceans and landfills over the course of its lifetime.

“The Coast Guard continually upgrades its environmental regulations to reflect advances in technology,” he adds. “I wouldn’t be surprised if, a few years from now, it’s illegal to throw oil-soaked pads into a landfill rather than recycle them.”

The 2009 Pacific Marine Expo will take place November 19-21 at Seattle’s Qwest Field Event Centre. To learn more about the FORS Bilge Oil Collector, visit http://www.ForsOilRecovery.com or call 250-616-7817.

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