Overview
Antifreeze recovery rates in Manitoba and across Canada have historically been low, despite stable sales volumes confirmed through Environmental Handling Charge (EHC) reporting. This prompted an important question:
Where is the used antifreeze going?
To better understand antifreeze recovery potential, Used Oil Management Programs across Canada commissioned a comprehensive study. DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) was engaged to determine how much antifreeze is effectively “lost in service” and how much is realistically available for collection.
Manitoba Fleet Profile (2024)
Understanding antifreeze use begins with defining the vehicle market:
- Light-duty vehicles: 89.2%
- Medium- and heavy-duty trucks: 6.6%
- Motorcycles and mopeds: 3.1%
- Buses: 0.4%
- Electric vehicles: 0.7% (expected to grow)
Manitoba has a higher proportion of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles than the national average (4.9%), increasing antifreeze demand and influencing recovery potential.
Research Methodology
The study involved extensive primary research, including consultations with:
- Automotive repair and maintenance sectors (light-, medium-, heavy-duty)
- Off-road and industrial equipment operators
- Used antifreeze collectors and recyclers
- Vehicle recyclers and scrapyards
- Fluid manufacturers and distributors
- Mining and marine sectors
DAC assessed total antifreeze sales volumes and evaluated all sources of unrecoverable antifreeze to estimate the percentage realistically available for recovery.
Major Sources of Antifreeze Loss
- Off-Label and Winterization Use: New antifreeze is often used for alternative applications, including winterizing boats and RVs, de-icing, marking ski slopes, remote equipment cooling, and other non-automotive purposes.
- Breakage and Accidents: Leaks, collisions, and equipment failures release antifreeze directly into the environment, making recovery impossible.
- Dilution During Coolant Flushes: While much antifreeze is removed by gravity draining, a portion remains in the system and must be flushed out. This is typically done with water, creating a highly diluted mixture that is not meaningfully collected and is often improperly disposed of. This process represents a significant source of unrecoverable antifreeze across major loss areas.
- Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Maintenance: Improper capture and disposal during home maintenance reduces recovery.
- Repurposing and Resale: Scrapyards and generators sometimes redistribute usable antifreeze prior to formal processing, particularly in the vehicle recycling sector. This antifreeze may be reused for industrial or mechanical top-ups where cost considerations outweigh quality concerns.
- Top-Ups and Minor System Losses: Evaporation, small leaks and wear require periodic top-ups. These losses occur gradually and are unrecoverable.
- Fleet Growth: Increases in fleet size place more antifreeze “in service,” temporarily reducing recoverable volumes.
- Vehicle Exports: Working and end-of-life vehicles exported outside Canada remove contained antifreeze from the domestic recovery system.
- Retired Equipment: Abandoned or retired vehicles and engines may retain fluids indefinitely.
- Scrap Processing Losses: Incomplete fluid drainage prior to shredding or compaction leads to loss.
- Antifreeze Mixed with Used Oil: Approximately 1.5% of used oil collected in Manitoba contains antifreeze, up from earlier estimates of 0.75%.
Study Findings
After evaluating all loss sources, DAC concluded:
- 66% of antifreeze is lost in service
- 34% is realistically recoverable
This revised understanding establishes a more accurate benchmark for program performance.
Enhancing Collection Incentives
Where recovery is challenging, financial incentives can improve performance. On January 1, Manitoba introduced Canada’s first Pay the Generator Program. Under this initiative:
- Collectors receive $0.10 per litre of antifreeze collected
- Payment must be passed directly to the generator
- Collectors submit quarterly customer reports proving incentive disbursement to the generator
Generators have responded positively, noting that a single drum can generate approximately $20 in return. Collectors report increased participation from current generators along with new generators coming on board as well as higher collection volumes since implementation. For our collectors, because antifreeze carries a return incentive rate up to 5 times higher than used oil and because they also don’t want the water & glycol in their used oil, they have enthusiastically embraced this initiative.
Summary Key Outcomes
The following has contributed to a substantial improvement in collection recovery:
- Updated loss-in-service findings from 57% to 66%;
- The revised antifreeze-in-oil estimate (0.75% to 1.5%);
- We increased our Return Incentives by an average of 50%;
- The introduction of the Pay the Generator Program producing hundreds of new customers
As a result, antifreeze recovery rates increased from 28.6% in 2024 to 89.5% in 2025.
This demonstrates that accurate recoverable rate modeling combined with targeted financial incentives can significantly improve collection volumes.