Over time, from our grandmothers we were taught to collect used cooking oil and reuse it several times to save money. The reality is different, these "savings" have actually turned into enormous costs both for health and the environment as well as for business. There are few who know that one liter thrown down the drain can pollute a million liters of water, the amount needed for an adult to survive for 14 years and if it ends up being thrown on the ground, it reduces soil fertility for a period of 5 years.
If you think that by using detergents you avoid this disaster, then you are wrong. Used oil is not biodegradable, and when in contact with water it forms a film that stops oxygen, increasing its volume over time as it "captures" other elements, thus contaminating them.
The complexity of the environmental problems existing at the national level is a solid argument to mobilize both natural and legal persons in order to collect and hand over the used cooking oil in order to reduce the maintenance costs of treatment plants, pipes and the sewage system but and to protect your health.
Especially for economic agents who persistently ignore this practice, we point out that waste fats and food oil deposited on the walls of the sewage system cause regular blockages, faster corrosion of drain pipes, causing unpleasant odors and reducing the functionality of sewage treatment plants, leading to their blocking and destruction . Finally, large economic agents generating used cooking oil will have to bear additional expenses for the maintenance of treatment plants, pumping stations, pipes and the sewage system, their wear and tear having a frequency up to 5 times higher than normal.
An example is the case in England, where a 15-ton grease 'plug' was discovered in a sewer in Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. For this reason, the sewerage only worked in proportion to 5% and 6 weeks of work were needed to clean them.
For more than a year, in the Republic of Moldova, the possibility to collect this used cooking oil appeared for free. It is enough to be aware and collect it in the containers provided by SRL BioEcoil. When it is full, the Bioecoil team approaches and takes it over.
So far, more than 5000 kg of used cooking oil have already been collected. Economic agents participate most actively, the average amount collected per economic agent being 50-60 kg of used cooking oil. Due to the lack of an infrastructure for recycling this waste, the company exports it to Italy, where it is recycled through specific technologies and reused as an alternative energy source. About 0.90 liters of biodiesel results from one liter of used cooking oil.
A few simple rules to follow to collect used cooking oil:
- Do not pour hot used oil into the collection container. If the amount of oil left is too small to be poured into another vessel, it can be wiped with a napkin and thrown in the trash;
- For collection you can choose plastic and glass containers (2-5 liters) important to have a lid;
- Request support from waste cooking oil collectors. With just a simple call they will pick up this extremely dangerous waste.