Reusable oil filters are the latest technology helping cut costs for the world’s shipping fleet.

According to a release from the Filtration Technology Group (FTG), traditional disposable filters have an important disadvantage: high replacement, disposal, inventory, and environmental cost. Every oil change, oil filters must be replaced, the old filters disposed of, and the spare filters inventoried in a space-restricted marine setting.

“The trend in the marine industry is away from disposable filters due to their high replacement, disposal, inventory, and environmental costs,” said Bob Story, Vice President of Story Electric Co., a fleet, marine, and industry supplier.

Engines beyond just diesel generators can require pumps and more for oil – thus also requiring filters and seeing costs head upward.

“For my marine customers, the cost of oil filter disposal is now several times the cost of the disposable filter itself,” added Story.

FTG offers reusable filters to the industry, lasting the life of an engine (and beyond, according to the California-based company). The reusable filters replace lube oil and other filters with a cleanable stainless steel wire cloth filter, and are available in configurations that spin directly onto existing mounting heads, or in remote-mount models well-suited to space-constrained, below deck, marine applications.

“The idea was to reduce the continual cost of filter replacement, waste disposal, and inventory,” added David Cline, Oil Filtration Product Manager at Parker Hannifin Corporation’s-Racor Filtration Division. “The cleanable, reusable filters reduce the waste stream by 100% because there are no longer any dirty oil filters to dispose of.”

Reusable, cleanable filters can be designed and used for any liquid filtration in any application.