Enterprise Holdings Inc. is partnering with Safety-Kleen, an oil re-refiner, to close the loop on oil consumption at its North American airport operations.

These airport car-rental service centers work with Safety-Kleen to collect spent oil from vehicle engines. The oil is re-refined by Kleen Performance Products into high-quality motor oil marketed under the company’s Eco Power brand and then reused in the Enterprise Holdings fleet, according to the company.

“Using Kleen Performance Products in our fleet offers significant environmental benefits while delivering a high-quality product that is equal to or better than oil from original crude, and at a comparable price,” said Dan Wessel, vice president of business management who oversees supply chain management for Enterprise Holdings. “It’s the responsible business choice for our fleet, for our customers, and for our bottom line.”

With Kleen Performance Products’ process, a gallon of oil not only can be recycled and re-refined again and again but its quality actually improves each time. And the process requires 85% less energy than extracting and refining new crude from the ground, according to the company.

With this process, Enterprise has avoided more than 54,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions during the last seven years, says the company.

“Oil re-recycling and re-refining remains one of sustainability’s greatest stories,” said Mark Bouldin, president of Kleen Performance Products. “Enterprise Holdings is at the forefront of embracing and championing this very effective way to manage oil as a renewable resource and is clearly out in front within the rental fleet industry.”

Enterprise’s service centers also work with Safety-Kleen to recycle 100% of the material in used oil filters – diverting thousands of pounds of used oil, plastic, metal, and paper from landfills, according to the company.

“Oil re-recycling creates a win-win situation,” said Wessel. “It offers us an opportunity to lessen our business impact on the environment while making the rental experience more sustainable for our customers.”

Since 2009, the Enterprise, National, and Alamo airport locations in North America have recycled more than 5 million gallons of used motor oil, according to the company.