If you cook in your kitchen then there is a very good chance you will end up with lots of left over fats and oils. Sure, you can practice fat and oil free cooking techniques which may also be healthier for you, but for the most of us, there are foods we are simply not willing to give up or at least enjoy splurging on occassionally, which use a lot of cooking oil, lard or other animal or vegetable fats. 

Which tends to leave us with a problem afterwards : Disposing of it.

The disposal of kitchen cooking oils including olive oil, lard, vegetable oils and more, should not be done by simply pouring it down the sink, or the toilet or into any other household drainage system. Whilst this might seem like a quick and easy solution for now, in the long run, you are risking clogging up your pipes leading to costly plumbing problems and much inconvenience for you at a later date.

Oils and chemicals also cause a problem for your local water treatment plant which has to work harder to clean up  the water from household waste when there are additional pollutants in it. In addition, when fat hardens in your municipal sewer system it become as hard as concrete and creates water-tight blockages which costs millions to clean out every year, which is ultimately additional money we’ve all had to spend indirectly through taxes or water bills.

The Yorkshire water authority spends upwards of three millions pounds a year unblocking 5000+ fat clogged pipes according to this article from the BBC. It becomes a great food source for vermin living and breeding in the sewers and ultimately is a menace to our sanitary health and pocketbooks.

So how do you dispose of used cooking oil? We have some ideas on how to get rid of kitchen fats and oils cleanly and greenly.

The simplest way to get rid of kitchen oil safely and cleanly is to simply keep clean, used empty glass jars around the kitchen for such time as when you need to get rid of waste oil. We mostly use pasta sauce jars as they are big, glass and come with a tightly fitting lid. Simply pour your left over oils and fat into the jar and dispose of it into the rubbish bin when it is cooled down.

An overlooked source of fats in the sewage system and your domestic water pipes, is through your actual foodstuffs. Dumping food down the sink or waste disposal just transfers the waste fats and oils on them into the system. Be sure to scrape excess food into the garbage before rinsing dishes rather than washing it all down the sink.

An even better way to dispose of oil is to reuse or recycle it in whatever way you can.

Check your local area for any biodiesel start-ups which are often more than happy to take in your used oil as they can convert it into fuel they will  make money on. Some local restaurants will also have an oil bin you can pour used oil into as well which will also be recycled and is much better for the environment than dumping it down the drain or adding it the local landfill. This varies from area to area and from company to company. Check around for possible recycling solutions near you.

A further way to recycle used lard and oils is to turn it into a winter bird food. A small amount of lard mixed with bird seed or nuts can be made into bird cakes which can be hung up for birds to feast on during those barren winter months.

I am sure there are other great ways to dispose of used cooking fat and oils, feel free to comment below with your additional suggestions or general comments.

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