Leroy Ingram, the manager of a north Tucson BRAKEmax auto shop, quickly disavows any suggestion that he’s a “tree hugger,” yet his shop is one of more than 50 car-repair facilities across Arizona that have joined the Green Auto Shop Program coordinated by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

The program is a partnership among ADEQ, the City of Mesa, Automotive Service Association of Arizona and AAA. Launched in 2005, the program outlines ways auto shops can protect the environment and save money in the auto bays, front office and even in the public restroom.

Think low-water-use toilets and timers on lights.

Mostly, though, it’s about recycling, Ingram said.

“We recycle everything,” he said, laughing. “All of our fluids are collected and recycled.”
Some of those recycled fluids, like antifreeze, make it back into another vehicle. Oily fluids such as transmission oil or power steering and brake fluids are recycled as low-cost oils for use in items like fuel-oil burners, he added.

“Some of it can even wind up in asphalt,” Ingram said.

Where are they?

Of the 51 facilities now part of the Green Auto Shop program, 47 are located in Tucson or the Phoenix area. Sedona boasts two shops; Green Valley and Camp Verde each have one.

Ron Hickey has owned Hickey Automotive in Green Valley for 21 years. He said environmental concerns motivated him to join the Green Auto Shop program in fall 2008.

“Years ago we used to dump oil in the dirt and antifreeze down the street and thought nothing of it,” Hickey said. “We weren’t educated then. So I thought this was a good way to repay the earth.”

According to the ADEQ Web site, facilities that want to go green must do more than current government regulations require. They need to “examine their front-office processes, parts-management programs, housekeeping, parts cleaning and degreasing, fluid recycling and energy-use policies to reduce or prevent pollution.”

When BRAKEmax built Ingram’s store in 2006, it was already recycling fluids and employing some other green practices. Ingram said that for an older store, it could cost a few thousand dollars to go green.

Michelle Donati, public affairs supervisor for AAA Arizona, agreed. AAA already works with more than 150 shops that earn its seal of approval for meeting a host of stringent standards, Donati said. To join the Green Auto Shop program, a shop must work with one of AAA’s green business coordinators to clean up its act.

“It’s harder for older shops,” she added.

Donati said most shop owners will use up supplies as they work with green business coordinators to find the best recycling vendors and deals on goods.

Hickey estimated he spent about $2,500 to go green, mostly in light bulbs and splash pans used to catch leaks in oil or chemical storage. “But we did it in pieces,” he added. “It probably took us about six months.”

Go it alone

At least one auto shop owner won’t join the Green Auto Shop program because he says he already adopts many earth-friendly practices.

Mike Riley said he recycles batteries, antifreeze and motor oil from his small shop on North Stone Avenue in Tucson. He donates scrap metal to “a guy comes by with an old clunky truck.” And he won’t switch the few light fixtures he has to compact fluorescent light bulbs because they contain a small amount of mercury and can’t be disposed of easily.

Mark Shaffer, communications director for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, agreed that the bulbs are a disposal problem.

“Each light bulb has to be boxed up separately and wrapped to guard against being broken in transport,” Shaffer said. They then must be sent to a disposal licensed to handle mercury.

Mostly, though, Riley, who has owned Mike’s Repairs for 28 years and runs his shop with one employee, prefers to go it alone.

“I don’t belong to AAA,” he said. “I don’t belong to Better Business Bureau. I’m not a club guy. I’m Mike’s Repairs. Why do I want to be tagged with them? They’re huge and if they get a bad name, I got a bad name. I can get a bad name all on my own.”

Green all over

Ingram recalled that before he adopted the new environmental standards, he would stand under a car and use two to three cans of aerosol cleaner to clean dirty brakes.

“In the old days, we had a chemical and we sprayed it, and wherever it landed, it landed and that was that,” he said, shrugging.

Today, mechanics in the Green Auto Shop Program use a solvent that comes through a tube with a brush attached. As the mechanic scrubs the brakes clean, the dirty solvent and solids that come off are caught in a tray — dubbed a birdbath — that is saved and given to a recycler. After the recycler filters out the heavy dirt and solids from the solvent, it is brought back and used for another cleaning job.

In a corner of the shop, a “dishwasher” using environmentally friendly soap is loaded with greasy parts coming off an engine, such as valve covers.  Near it is a cloth towel dispenser – something Ingram called “good technology from yesteryear” – which enables towels to be cleaned and reused and saves on paper waste.

Scrap metal, oil and air filters and batteries also are recycled.

Ingram said the most noticeable difference between green shops and traditional auto shops is the fluid recycling.
Freons and refrigerants are collected and recycled. Transmission fluid and coolant are pumped out of cars with a machine that saves it for pick up from the recycler. The recycler, depending on the nature of the pickup, comes either weekly or monthly.

“And there’s no work involved for us,” Ingram said. “They handle everything.”

Going green saves green

Ingram estimated that the ecofriendly practices BRAKEmax has put into place save his store at least $1,000 a month, and the top cost savings is in electricity.

“A store like this should be running probably a $1,200 electric bill,” yet his typical bill is $600 a month because of efficient lighting and timers, Ingram said. His store is open six days a week, 11 hours a day.

The store also sees savings by renting equipment, such as the birdbath brake washer for $50 a month, versus buying an aerosol brake cleaner.

“A can of Brakleen, which costs about $3 for a can, will cover maybe a wheel, maybe two wheels,” Ingram said. He added that he could buy about 15 cans of the cleaner for the same cost of the birdbath.

“It doesn’t make sense to use that stuff anymore,” he said.

ADEQ goals

Shaffer said his agency would like to “green” its entire fleet, meaning all state vehicles would have to have service performed at a Green Auto Shop.

Adding more green shops is also a goal, although the state lost its Green Auto Shop coordinator when he took another job and wasn’t replaced due to the state’s uncertain budget, Shaffer said.

For Ingram, the choice to go green was simple. “There’s no reason not to,” he said. “Everybody should get into it. Save the money.”