What to do with cooking oil? Recycle it!
Water boards are calling for used cooking oil to be recycled. Four in ten Dutch people dispose of their cooking oil in the sewer, which causes many problems in pipes and at sewage treatment plants.
Recycle used cooking oil - where to drop it off
Traditionally, many people bake doughnuts on New Year's Eve. Recycle the used frying fat. It can be turned into biofuel, a form of green energy. Water boards are therefore calling on people to hand in used frying fat in (old) packaging at a recycling point.
Solidified fat causes blockages
When cooking oil is poured down the sink, the solidified fat sticks to the inside of the pipes. If there is a blockage at home, a plumber must be called in quickly. Water boards often have to hire special companies to remove fat from the pressure pipes and pumping stations.
The purification and disposal of oil used for frying doughnuts costs the water boards a lot of money.
Less than half of Dutch households choose to recycle frying fat after baking doughnuts. The used frying fat often ends up in the sink or toilet. The fat causes major problems in pipes and at sewage treatment plants.
The purification and disposal of oil used for frying doughnuts costs water boards several million euros annually. The figures vary per region, but a water board can spend as much as 2 tons on this each year. These costs are ultimately paid by residents through water board taxes.