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How to collect used cooking oil?

Many people still pour used vegetable oil down the sink drain. But this causes a large environmental burden. 1 liter of used cooking oil can pollute up to several tens of thousands of liters of water. Clogging of pipelines is also a problem.

Law no. 79/2015 Coll. on waste on amendments to certain laws in § 81 par. 7 b) imposes from 2016 on all cities and municipalities the obligation to ensure separate collection of biodegradable municipal waste. The municipality is obliged to sort:
  • biodegradable kitchen waste, in addition to waste generated by a natural person - an entrepreneur and a legal entity that operates a catering facility,
  • edible oils and fats from households,
  • biodegradable waste from gardens and parks, including waste from cemeteries.

Evaluation of used vegetable oil and fats
The used vegetable oil, however, also represents an interesting commercial item. Burned cooking oil can be recovered and processed into biofuel. It is used as an additive in diesel fuel. Up to one liter of biofuel component is produced from one liter of used cooking oil. Energy produced from biodiesel is much more environmentally friendly. Its combustion releases less CO2, sulfur oxides and nitrogen emissions into the air than with fossil fuels and conventional diesel.

Containers and collection containers for used vegetable oil
Despite the fact that the law obliges municipalities to sort biodegradable waste, which includes edible oils and fats, the ecological collection of this waste still currently shows significant reserves. Most municipalities collect used edible oils in collection yards. In cities, the collection of edible oil is covered, for example, by selected PHM filling stations. The reason for the significant reserves in the ecological collection of used edible oil is, on the one hand, the currently low awareness of this issue among the population, and on the other hand, the insufficient equipment of cities and municipalities for such collection. Often there is an insufficient number of special collection containers for the ecological collection of used vegetable oils. From the point of view of environmental protection, it is important that the collection and handling of oil waste itself takes place using the equipment intended for this purpose. Collection containers - containers for collecting used edible oil should be resistant to UV radiation or weather effects, equipped with a lock against unwanted manipulation, or anchoring to prevent the container from tipping over.

From the point of view of user comfort for citizens, as well as the operational and service requirements of the entity providing collection, collection vessels and containers for collecting oils in closed PET bottles are most often used within cities and municipalities, gas stations or other entities providing collection. 

Quick return on investment in containers and containers for collecting vegetable oil
There are several specialized companies operating in Slovakia that deal with the purchase and subsequent processing of edible oils. The placement of a collection container for used oil represents for cities and municipalities, or PHM gas stations, a significant potential in terms of generating new revenues for the budget. Due to the fact that it is a desired input raw material for further processing, the edible oil and fats collected in this way can be sold to one of the processors. According to statistical data, the average citizen consumes 4-5 liters of vegetable oil and fats annually. The purchase price for 1 kg of burnt vegetable oil in Slovakia is at the level of 0.20-0.30 EUR/kg. With the above fact in mind, used oil collection containers represent an investment with a quick return. If you are interested in the issue of separate collection of used edible oil, we will be happy to advise you. Contact us.

PRIMUS Žilina team

Blog added October 9, 2018.