The MicroGreen oil filter, which can help oil last eight times longer than usual, has been named a preferred product under the New York Office of General Services' preferred source program.

The program requires all New York state agencies and local governments to give preference to certain products made by companies and agencies that employ people with disabilities.

PineRidge Industries, a support center for developmentally disabled adults, assists commercial preparation and distribution of the MicroGreen filter, a product of SOMS Technologies. PineRidge is a member of New York State Industries for the Disabled, which offers products named to the preferred source program.

The MicroGreen oil filter, which looks and is installed like typical filters, includes a patented filter system that captures tiny particles not caught by typical oil filters, said SOMS' CEO Miles Flamenbaum. Most filters catch particles as small as 25-40 microns in size, and SOMS says its filter gets particles as s small as 2 microns. By capturing more material, the oil stays cleaner longer, and can be used longer.

The extra filtration allows vehicles to drive 24,000-30,000 miles before an oil change is needed. They also cut down on how frequently oil filters need to be swapped out.

Vehicles that require oil changes every 3,000 miles can instead go 24,000 miles between oil changes, and the filter gets changed every 6,000 miles. Vehicles that can normally go 5,000 miles between oil changes can instead travel 30,000 miles between oil changes and 10,000 miles between filter changes. That's about 70 percent less oil being used as well as being disposed of.

Launched in October 2008, the MicroGreen filter has already been adopted by governments, businesses and universities, including Standard Oil of Connecticut, New York's Pace University and the New York municipalities of Mount Pleasant and Pleasantville. Although SOMS is primarily focused on getting the MicroGreen filter into more fleets, it's also offering the filter to consumers.