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Barbara Brown

At the age of 12, Barbara Brown and two of her friends from 4-H founded a motor oil recycling program called Don’t Be Crude. Barbara was inspired to start the organization because she frequently saw used motor oil poured on the ground as an herbicide or insecticide. She spoke with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (formerly Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission), solicited $16,000 in donations from area businesses, and worked with several County Commissioners Courts to designate the recycling sites. Today Don’t be Crude has 19 do-it-yourself recycling centers 7 different counties and because of its efforts, 50,000 gallons of used motor oil and hydraulic fluid are recycled every year.

View Barbara Brown's video or read the transcript

Learn More

• Article about Don’t Be Crude
• Center for a New American Dream
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality