Shop oil sorbents at West Marine.

Over the years, large scale oil spills like Union Oil’s Santa Barbara Channel spill of 1969, the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 and British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010 have led to billions of dollars in penalties and much condemnation of “Big Oil”. But is “Big Oil” responsible for all the oil pollution in the United States?

Let’s all do our part to keep our waters clean.

With nearly 10,000 marinas in the United States and around 1,000,000 recreational boats stored in the water, large ships and offshore oil rigs aren’t necessarily the only culprits when it comes to polluting our waters. Fortunately, most boaters care about the environment and are willing to do whatever it takes to avoid the accidental discharge of fuel and oil into our waters.

Use oil absorbents and don’t pump oily bilge water overboard.

To minimize the possibility of accidentally pumping oily bilge water into the water around your boat, we suggest you make use of oil absorbents (aka sorbents) which are designed to soak up oil and gasoline but repel water. Typically, they can absorb from 13 to 25 times their own weight in oil. 18” x 15” oil absorbent sheets can be purchased as a single sheet, or as a package of 5, 50, or 100 sheets. They are ideal for placement in bilges, under inboard engines during oil changes or for cleaning up accidental spills. It is always a good idea to keep a couple of these sheets on hand when changing oil or when filling your boat’s fuel tank at the fuel dock.

Oil absorbent booms are another type of product to consider. Made of a material similar to the absorbent sheets described above, sausage shaped oil absorbent booms are ideal for use on a continuous basis in bilges where they absorb oil, gasoline or diesel fuel and, like absorbent sheets, repel water.

Consider a rapid response kit to clean up small spills.

Owners of larger boats might want to consider Buffalo’s Oil Spill Kit, which comes in a 20 gallon closed plastic container. This kit includes essential items to mitigate a small fuel or oil spill. Contents include oil absorbent booms for fast spill containment, woven polypropylene oil absorbent sheets for rapid absorption of surface oil and protective gear to ensure your personal safety during the clean-up process.

West Marine sells oil absorbent materials under the 3M, West Marine, Seafit and Pura brands.