What to do with used cooking oil?

Cooking oil is one of the main contaminants on our planet, having several environmental, structural and public impacts that are often irreparable.

Because it is waste with so many impacts at various levels, it must be valued and, therefore, recycled. Find out how you can do it in this article.

How to recycle used cooking oil?

The disposal of used cooking oil (UCO) through the sewage system is out of the question due to the negative impact it has on our homes, soil, public networks, the aquatic environment and the climate. But what are the solutions?

Put used cooking oil in oil pans

After using the UCO, you must let it cool to room temperature and then you can place it in a plastic bottle or carboy with a screw cap or container approved for this purpose. Then just deposit the container in the appropriate destination: the oil.

Recently, Prio launched the Prio Top Level project through which it makes several oil tanks available at its filling stations, even having an “advanced oil tank” that offers the user a deposit to place the UCO.

With this project, the aim is to have more than 800 oil pans spread from north to south of the country in 2020. The used cooking oil collected in Prio's oil pans and other oil pans in Portugal, such as those present in large commercial areas, is sent to a treatment and recovery of this waste for the production of biodiesel.

A large part of the used cooking oil collected is recovered into biodiesel not only due to the high percentage of conversion (1000 liters of UCO allows the production of between 920 and 980 liters of biodiesel) but also to the price of producing the fuel from this residue compared to other feedstock.

A smaller percentage of the collected UCO is used to produce soap or used as additives in animal feed, pesticides and biogas.

Value OAU in our homes in a homemade way

Another solution is to value UCO in our own homes by reusing this waste:

• Light the fireplace: just place the firewood in the correct position and soak a kitchen towel with a little oil. An easy and quick way to light the fireplace!
• Make ecological candles: you can use the powders that The Greatest Candle in the World provides to, with the help of the microwave, carry out the transformation. You can do it another way: buy stearic acid and, together with the residue and essential oils, make candles with a pleasant smell.
• Transformation into homemade soap: on the internet we can discover many procedures. However, none are safe due to the use of caustic soda which can cause burns. Therefore, using the SOAPY Kit is the safest and most fun way for any child aged 6 and over to obtain 100% biodegradable and dermatologically tested liquid soap from OAU. In addition to being able to recycle the UCO, the kit can be an excellent way to transmit ecological concepts to your children and at the same time obtain a product that is useful in everyday life.

Now that you know how you can recycle your used cooking oil, you no longer have any reason to dispose of it inappropriately. Are we going to contribute to a more sustainable future?