Oil (Cooking)
Disposal of cooking oil down sinks or the foul sewer should be avoided as it can cause blockages. Inappropriate disposal to surface water drains pollutes water courses and can damage vegetation and wildlife.
Our recycling / disposal advice
Hertfordshire County Council now provides a service for the recycling of cooking oil from 16 HWRCs in the county. The used oil is taken from the container at the HWRC and used to power vehicle collection crews as well as generating power for the collection contractor's operations at their own offices.
Alternatively, cooking oil can be re-used for deep fat frying and by draining it through kitchen roll and a sieve, food contamination is removed thus prolonging its life. However, continual re-use is not appropriate due to the incresaed health risks as the fat degrades.
Kerbside collections of cooking oil for recycling are not available to householders due to the difficulties in ensuring the material is free of contaminants and because of a lack of traceability.
At home, lard and fat can be made into bird cakes when seeds are added.
Small amounts of cooking (vegetable) oil can also be added to a home compost heap.
But, what if you cannot re-use or recycle your cooking oil?
The Oil Care Campaign advise that householders dispose of cooking oil within the general household waste collection route. This can be done either by soaking it in kitchen roll or by placing it in a rigid container with the top covered or closed during storage so as not to attract vermin.
Use the search below to find where to recycle / dispose of Oil (Cooking).