Using cooking oil repeatedly messes with its smell as well as taste. It is best to change your cooking oil frequently. What happens to waste cooking oil? There are used oil collection facilities all around you.
Lots of people do not dispose of used cooking oil correctly. Some will simply pour it into the sink and follow up with hot water. This leads to clogging of drainage pipes eventually casing inconveniencing and expensive drainage plumbing problems.
Also, you cannot toss it in the bin with the rest of the trash. The aforementioned methods of disposal would be harmful to the environment. A good option is to get it to your local used oil collection company and have them collect it for recycling.
Other sanitary ways of getting rid of your used oil include the following:
1. Freeze it
If you have not used it too much, you can freeze your used oil for reuse in the future. Let it cool first then filter out any food particles in it. Pour it into a container with a tight seal and place it in your freezer. It will be good to use sometime soon.
2. Convert it into a Biofuel
You can turn your used oil into biodiesel. Simply combine it with methanol and voilà! You have an eco-friendly fuel substitute for petroleum. Biodiesel does not produce harmful greenhouse gases such as petroleum would release. You can use your biodiesel to power machines around your home.
The downside is that you need a large amount of cooking oil for this venture. The little oil that you use for your family may not be enough even if you store for a whole week straight.
You could get the local eateries to give you their waste cooking oil. It would relieve them of the headache of figuring out how to get rid of theirs. You will also be doing the world a huge service and helping with the environmental effort.
Give it Away
Apart from a recycling company, waste management companies, government agencies as well as restaurants that run recycling programs. You can give your UCO to these to be converted into much-needed products such as biodiesel.
3. Compost or Make a Weed Killer
You can compost vegetable oils such as olive oil in small amounts. You can also make a natural weed killer by putting it in a spray bottle and spraying weed. So, you have compost as well as a weed killer without spending a dime. Also, it will not be harmful to the environment.
4. Get the Fat Trapper System
This is a plastic container that contains an aluminum foil bag. It is designed to provide the perfect solution for disposing of used oil especially for individuals with few alternatives.
You pour your waste frying oil into the bag, fold it once it fills up and throw it away. It is odor-free and an excellent and sanitary way to get rid of waste oil.
5. Combine it with an Absorbent Material
If all else fails, mix your waste oil with a material such as flour or sawdust. When the consistency is good enough, then you can throw it away. That way there will be no oil leaks hence you can toss it in the bin with the rest of the trash.
Conclusion
Do not dispose of your waste oil in the drain or out in the open. Also, avoid tossing it in the sea. The fishes will not appreciate the intrusion as it interferes with the ecosystem and kills them off.
The best option is to recycle as that helps the environmental effort. Recycling used oil introduces new and bio-friendly products into the market. These products are sustainable as they are manufactured with naturally available raw materials.
However, if you must throw it away, get the fat trapper system or mix it with absorbent material for ease of disposal. By getting involved in the recycling of used cooking oil, you become a part of the solution for the world’s environmental woes.