4 Reasons Why Recycling Cooking Oil Is Good for The Environment

Edible oil is by far one of the most common items in kitchens and food processing factories across the world. Global consumption of cooking oil is estimated to be at 200 million metric tons per year going by statistical estimates by Statista. Another 2018 report by OECD-FAO estimates global edible oil consumption to increase by over four percent in the next few years.

Cooking oil production and usage has been on the radar of environmental conservationists and government regulators for a few years. Today, companies and individuals are under more pressure to keep their edible oil consumption levels in check for sustainability. Cooking oil recycling has been identified as one of the critical strategies for reducing the environmental impact of edible oils and sustainability.

Let’s take a look at some of the things fueling the debate around the recycling of cooking oil and why it is important for the environment.

1.Cooking Oil Production Is A Significant Contributor to Abiotic Depletion

A lot of people don’t understand the process that cooking oil that ends up in their kitchen cabinet goes through. Some of the edible oils used today require a lot of resources both in raw material production and refining processes. A common misconception is that vegetable oils are generally good for the environment.

However, this is not the case as some of the popular vegetable cooking oils such as palm oil have been under increased scrutiny due to the resources required for their production. Indeed, there has been growing concern over the negative impact of replacing tropical forests with large palm plantations in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.

The same can be said for the rest of the edible oils in use today such as soybean oil, sunflower seed oil, animal oils, Peanut oil among others. The point here is the need to find ways to make better use of cooking oils through recycling and efficiency to reduce the stress to the environment through highly taxing oil production processes.

2.Cost of Disposal

Every year, local authorities and governments in urban areas across the world spend billions disposing of cooking oils safely. Used cooking oils dumped through conventional sewer systems and drainage pipes are a significant source of frustration for authorities and individual homeowners as they end up condensing and clogging up pipes and waste delivery systems.

Companies and governments are therefore being encouraged to partner with oil recycling companies like MBP that recycle used cooling oils and turn them into useful biofuels. This solves the dumping problem as used oil can be collected from source and also gives the used oil a new purpose, thus promoting environmental sustainability.

3.Physical impact To the Environment

Used cooking oil if not properly disposed of or recycled, finds its way into the environment. Millions of gallons of used cooking oils are drained into the sea and other water bodies killing marine organisms, disrupting ecosystems and causing all sorts of damage. Carelessly dumped cooking oil is a major problem in urban centers that lack robust waste disposal systems as it becomes toxic, rots and produces odors and messes up the physical environment for people living there.

4.Putting It to Good Use

Much of the oils we use today don’t become useless after use; they get dirty. This is why recycling is highly encouraged to ensure used oils can be converted into valuable commodities instead of being dumped. Indeed, it has been proven that fewer resources are required to produce oils through recycling than from base raw materials. Biofuels have found several applications across many industries; they are derived from recycled oils.

Final Thoughts

So much needs to be done to ensure we achieve acceptable levels of sustainability to protect the environment. Recycling of oils is critical towards achieving today’s sustainability goals. PPPs will be crucial in the whole process as not many governments can prioritize all the environmental protection goals required of them.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.