Frituurvet, recycle het!

For 15 years, MVO, the chain organisation for oils and fats, has been running a communication campaign on the benefits of recycling frying oil which aims to inform municipalities about the many benefits of collecting this type of waste. Used frying oil generated in household can lead to nuisance and high social costs if it is disposed of incorrectly by consumers. Not just the leftover cooking fat and oil, there’s also the oil in sun dried tomato jars and other oily wastes. Used cooking oil is an important raw material source for the production of biodiesel which reduces CO2 emissions in the transport sector. Separating the collection of this waste thus contributes to the circular economy transition while at the same time accelerating the energy transition. A map allowing residents to find the nearest collection points is available as part of this campaign.

Benefits of collecting used frying oil

There are many good reasons to collect used frying oil:

1. Less sewer blockages contributing to a cleaner and more efficient wastewater treatment system
   Every year, used frying oil ends up in the wastewater treatment plants which must then be removed. For instance, one of the largest wastewater treatment plant of the Brabant Delta removes about ten thousand litres of frying oil from their basins every five weeks, this equals to a truck with 100 full wheelbarrows.
2. Contributing to a cleaner and more efficient waste collection systems
   Disposing of waste oil in a bottle or jar and placing it in the bin is also not a good option. This leads to a big mess when the waste collection trucks compress this type of waste. The grease ends up on the walls of the truck and requires a lot of time, energy and money to clean.
   
3. Additional income for local communities by reducing the water and waste management taxes
   Ultimately, the cost of cleaning repairing sewers, pumping stations and water treatment are considerable. This is also the case for the cleaning of the waste collection trucks. These costs could be avoided in principle but are now passed on to the consumer in the water and waste taxes. Educating about prevention would help limit the damage and reduce costs.
4. Contributing to a more circular economy and accelerate the transition to a fossil free society
   Used cooking oil is of great value for the production of renewable fuels for the transport sector and contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. . The Dutch Emissions Authority reported that in 2023, 25% of renewable energy in transport was based on used cooking. With every litre of used frying oil that is processed into biodiesel, approximately 3 kilos of CO2 emissions are saved.

Best practices

• Communicate with residents to inform about the opportunities of collecting used frying oil and the disadvantages of disposing of oils and fats down the toilet or in with organic waste.
• Encourage the deployment of collection points by provide accessible locations for the collection of used frying oil
• Find on the map with the closest recycling point for used frying oil near you.

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Frituurvet, recycle het! 

Find the full campaign by checking out the website here.

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