Cooking oil and grease add extra flavors to food and make them more tasty. However, most people do not know what to do with their leftover cooking oil and grease, so they pour them into the wrong places.
Fast Act Junk Removal Service shares a guide on how to safely dispose of your used cooking oil and grease to protect the environment and your plumbing system.
What Are the Benefits of Safe Cooking Oil Disposal?
If you are wondering why it is important to recycle and safely dispose of your used oil and grease, the simple answer is that it protects the environment. Other benefits of properly disposing of your cooking oil include the following:
1. Saves You Money on Plumbing Repairs
For most households, the best way to dispose of their used oil is to pour it down the drain. But do you know that pouring oil and grease in your sink can cause clogged pipes?
When you pour oil and other greasy contents into your drain, they solidify after a short while and form clogs in your pipe. As you pour more oil into your sink over time, the clogs increase until they completely block the pipe, and then you have to spend money on repair or replacement.
Recycling your cooking oil and grease or disposing of them in a safe, eco-friendly manner protects your drain from getting clogged and saves you from spending more on repairs and cleanup.
2. Protect the Local Sewage
You may not be aware of this, but when you pour oil and grease down your drain, the damage doesn’t end in your home. It extends to the local sewage and causes damage that affects your local community.
If you pour cooking oil into your drain, when it solidifies, it can block your local sewage pipe and cause a sewage overflow in your streets and other parts of your local area. This will lead to a dirty and smelly environment and may also cause a disease outbreak.
In other words, when you dispose of your used oil properly, you are not only protecting yourself, but you are also protecting your local community and saving your neighbors from diseases.
3. Saves the Environment
Do you know that you can convert your used cooking oil to biofuel, which can be used as a replacement for diesel? The process of recycling cooking oil produces biodiesel as one of its byproducts. This biodiesel can be used to power diesel engines and cars, protecting the environment from harmful emissions.
Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels are clean and safe. Using biofuels helps to reduce air pollution, as they do not contain harmful elements and do not release toxic carbon dioxide emissions into the air.
4. Creates Jobs
Most countries in different parts of the world, including the US, are investing in recycling cooking oils and producing biofuels, which means that more job opportunities are being created.
When you recycle your oil, you are contributing to the Government’s efforts and supporting economic growth. The recycling plants will continue running, and more job opportunities will open for more people.
What Are the Wrong Ways of Disposing Cooking Oil and Grease?
Some of the unsafe ways through which people dispose of their used cooking oil include the following:
1. Pouring Cooking Oil Down the Sink
No matter what you’ve been told, pouring cooking oil and grease into the sink is not only wrong but also harmful to your drain and causes severe damage to your plumbing system.
Your used oil may be in liquid form now, but when it goes down the drain, it solidifies and forms clogs in the pipe, blocking water from passing through.
2. Pouring Cooking Oil Down the Toilet
Some people think pouring their used cooking oil into the toilet is a safer option than pouring it into the sink, but that is not true. Pouring used oil and grease into the toilet is just as harmful as pouring it into the kitchen sink.
Oil and water don’t mix, meaning when you pour oil into the toilet, the oil can still go down the drain and damage the drain line walls. Also, if the oil is used, it can contain fats, which increases its chances of solidifying and blocking your toilet pipe.
3. Pouring Hot Oil and Grease Into Garbage Cans
Don’t pour your used cooking oil and grease into garbage cans because it will cause your garbage to be messy, which may attract pests like insects and rats into your home. It can also cause issues for the garbage handler when sorting the trash at local waste sites.
4. Dumping Oil on the Ground
Don’t pour your used cooking oil or grease on the ground, as that is not a safe means of disposal either. When you dump used oil on the ground, it will penetrate the ground and contaminate the soil and water. Also, remember that oil can also contribute to fire, and pouring your used oil on the ground will increase the chances of fire outbreaks in your home.
5. Adding Oil to Septic Tank and Compost
Pouring your cooking oil and grease into your septic tank can damage its drainage and distribution line. It can also damage the local sewage line and cause pollution in your community.
Also, you shouldn’t add used oil or grease to your composts as it can block airflow, cause moisture issues, and ruin your fertilizer. It will also attract flies and vermin, making the compost unhealthy.
Now that you have discovered that some of the methods you use in disposing of your used cooking oil and grease are unsafe and unhealthy, continue reading to learn about healthy and safe ways to get rid of oil and grease from your home without damaging your pipes or causing environmental pollution.
What Are the Safe and Eco-friendly Ways to Dispose Cooking Oil and Grease
Some of the safe and eco-friendly to get rid of used cooking oil and grease include:
1. Throw it Away With Your Trash
The oldest and most straightforward way to dispose of used cooking oil and grease is to throw it away with regular trash. When you are done cooking or frying, allow the oil or grease to cool down and solidify. Once the oil is cooled, transfer it into a jar and put it in your trash can.
However, ensure that the oil is completely cool before transferring it into the container. You can also freeze the used oil or grease to allow it to solidify faster for easier transfer. Remember not to use plastic bags to store the oil. Plastic bags are not strong enough, and they may spill the oil and cause a mess in your trash bag.
2. Take it to a Restaurant for Disposal
Most restaurants, especially big ones, collaborate with hazardous waste disposal centers to safely dispose of oils and other toxic wastes. If you have a restaurant in your neighborhood or know anyone who owns one, you can take your used oil and grease there so they can assist you in disposing of it safely.
3. Mix with Other Waste Materials
To safely dispose of your cooking oil, you can mix it with absorbent waste materials to transform them into solid waste and dispose of them like your regular trash.
Mix your used oil or grease with other debris, such as sawdust, flour, or sand. This method is less messy and allows you to dispose of your oil neatly. However, be careful to add only a little oil to your waste to prevent it from being soggy and messy.
4. Reuse or Recycle Your Cooking Oil
One safe way to reduce oil waste in your home and promote a safer environment is to reuse it. Depending on the food, you don’t have to dispose of your oil after the first use. You can store your used oil in a jar after use and reuse it for another dish.
Additionally, you can recycle your used oil and grease. Simply store them and find a recycling center in your local area that accepts oil waste. You can reuse your oil for other purposes, like soap and non-toxic insecticides.
How to Safely Reuse Cooking Oils
Reusing your cooking oil helps to reduce the amount of oil waste you’ll throw away. It also saves you money on repurchasing cooking oil since you now use each portion more than once. Fast Act Junk Removal shares some helpful tips to safely reuse your cooking oil:
1. Stran Oil Before Storing
Before storing your oil for future use, ensure to remove dirt and impurities to keep it healthy and safe for your family.
When your oil is cooled and safe to handle, strain it using a small kitchen strainer/filter to remove all food particles and dirt before you store it away. You can also do this by placing the strain on the lid of the jar to collect the particles as you transfer the oil.
Don’t forget to clean your filter using soft microfiber clothes before washing it with soap. This way, you can ensure that not even a tiny amount of grease or oil goes down your drain.
2. Store the Oil in a Jar
Don’t leave your used oil in a pan or pot before your next use. Some households make the mistake of leaving their oil in the frying pan until they are ready to use it again.
Doing this is unhealthy as it exposes the oil to dirt and disease-causing germs, making you and your family vulnerable to diseases and infections.
Instead, pour your oil into a glass or plastic jar with a tight lid and store away until your subsequent use. This way, you can keep your oil clean and healthy for you and your family.
3. Separate Used Oil Based on Food Type
Remember to separate your cooking oil based on the type of food you used it to fry. For example, cooking oil used to fry seafood should be stored in a different jar from the one used to fry chicken and turkey.
This is an essential step because these food items have different flavors, and you do not want to mix them up. Label each jar before storing it in your pantry for easy identification
4. Check Oil Before Use to Know If It’s Bad
The problem with reusing your oil is it might be difficult to tell when they are bad and past their useful life, which is why you must check them before every use. Before you reuse your cooking oil, check its thickness and smell to know if it’s still reusable.
Also, there are common rules that guide the use of cooking oil to help you know when to throw it away. For example, oil used to fry fish and chicken can be used 3-4 times, while oil used to fry potato chips is usually cleaner and can be reused up to 7-8 times.
Using this rule, you can decide if your cooking oil is still safe or if you should replace it with a fresh batch.
5. Use Your Oil as Insecticide
If you’ve reused your cooking oil a couple of times and it's no longer reusable, you can use it as a non-toxic insecticide.
Vegetable cooking oil can kill insects and bugs by coating their bodies and blocking the pores through which they breathe. This method helps to reduce the insects in your home, and it is also safe fo use since it doesn’t contain any toxic elements.
To make your homemade insecticide, mix one tablespoon of oil and one tablespoon of soap in a jar, cover and shake it well, and spray it directly on insects, bugs, and pest-infested plants
You can also use your vegetable oil mix as a pesticide. Just add water to your used vegetable oil and spray it on the weeds in your garden as a pesticide.
How to Reduce Cooking Oil Consumption in Your Home
While reusing cooking oil is a safe way to reduce oil disposal in your home, another option is to reduce the amount of oil in your meals.
Oil-less cooking is not only good for your health, but it also helps reduce the amount of oil you consume and dispose of in your home. Some tips to minimize cooking oil consumption in your home include the following:
1. Switch to Non-Stick Pots and Pans
Although non-stick pots and pans are pretty expensive, they are an investment towards healthier cooking and a safer environment. Using non-stick pots and pans is an easy way to reduce oil consumption. They allow you to cook with little to no oil, significantly reducing the amount of oil in your food.
2. Use an Airfryer
Using an air fryer is another simple and easy way to achieve crisp and tasty food without oil. Air fryers are designed to cook food in a way that makes it brown and crisp without using oil. However, you can spray some oil on your food before putting it in the air fryer for a better, crispier result.
3. Switch to Oil-Less Stir Frying
If you enjoy stir-fried meals, you may be consuming a lot of oil in your cooking. A safer way to do this is to switch oil-les stir-frying. When stir-frying your veggies, instead of oil, simply keep a jar of water close by and sprinkle small bits into it occasionally to allow it to cook without being steamed.
4. Choose Steaming or Per-boiling Over Frying
Rather than frying your fish or turkey, steaming is a safer and healthier option. Steaming your food and vegetables allows you to enjoy healthy and tasty meals without consuming excess oil.
Conclusion
While cooking and frying with oil and grease make your food taste better, their disposal can be messy and may lead to environmental and plumbing issues.
To protect your pipes from premature damage and save your environment from pollution, you must be more intentional about disposing of your used cooking oil and grease using safe and healthy methods.
Alternatively, you can switch to oil-less cooking, which allows you to consume less oil, and you can worry less about oil and grease disposal. If you have more questions about disposing of your oil and grease waste, contact a local junk removal service for professional assistance and advice.
About Fast Act Junk Removal and Dumpster Service
Fast Act Junk Removal is a professional junk removal service in Niles, Michigan, serving the Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan area.
They provide top-quality, reliable junk removal services, including furniture removal, appliance removal, general house cleanout, estate cleanout, and apartment cleanout services.
Fast Act also provides dumpster rental services. They have various types of dumpsters available, including 6-yard dumpsters, 8-yard dumpsters, 10-yard dumpsters, and 20-yard dumpsters. They also have commercial dumpsters, mini dumpsters, and roll-off dumpster rental services.
For professional advice on safe and eco-friendly junk removal, call Fast Act Junk Removal at 269-808-1170 or visit their website.
