Using cooking oil many times is not recommended. However, you should not throw away used cooking oil carelessly because it can have a bad impact on the environment which will impact your health.
The correct way to dispose of used cooking oil
Used cooking oil is not recommended for reuse, especially if it changes color and becomes dirty because the oil is heated to high temperatures many times.
However, you also should not throw it anywhere because it can cause water pollution.
To avoid a sustainable impact, here’s how to properly dispose of used cooking oil.
1. Store in a special container
After using cooking oil, don’t throw it away. You can filter it first and save the cooking oil.
Wait a few moments until the oil is no longer hot. Then transfer it to a special container for storing oil, such as a jerry can.
If the cooking oil was used for cooking plant-based ingredients, you may still be able to reuse it.
However, you should only use it 2-3 times and stop immediately if the oil changes color or becomes dirty.
Too often frying with used oil or used cooking oil can cause various health problems such as heart disease.
Next, you can hand it over to the final waste collection officer to help dispose of the used cooking oil safely.
2. Hand it into a recycling center
Not immediately throwing away used cooking oil can also be a wise choice to save the earth.
The reason is, you can hand over this used oil to a recycling center.
According to research in the journal Resources (2019), used cooking oil can be a renewable natural resource that can produce fuels such as biodiesel.
This biodiesel can be used as a substitute for fuel and the exhaust gas produced is also more environmentally friendly.
First of all, cool the used cooking oil that you have used by letting it sit at room temperature.
Then, filter it first so that the dirt used to process food does not get stored later.
Next, you need to store the cooking oil in a closed container that does not easily decompose such as jerry cans, containers or used plastic bottles until it is full.
Keep it away from the oven, stove, refrigerator, or microwave so that the temperature of the oil in the jerry can and the container does not heat up.
Call or visit a recycling center near where you live.
3. Mix it into the fertilizer ingredients
Apart from the recycling, you can use used cooking oil as an addition to plant fertilizer.
Used cooking oil produces high levels of saturated fatty acids.
These saturated fatty acids are indeed harmful to human health, but they can actually help plant growth.
However, you need to know that this used cooking oil is not the main fertilizer for plants.
You still have to care for and provide main fertilizers such as urea fertilizer, manure, and other plant fertilizers.
The method is quite easy, you only need to filter the used vegetable food oil and pour a little directly on the plants or mix it into the fertilizer.
Avoid using used animal food oil so that the plants are not attacked by small insects.
4. Do not dispose of into waterways
Throwing used cooking oil into water disposal sites such as sinks and gutters can cause water pollution.
Water pollution can result in the contamination of clean water sources for family needs which can impact your health.
This contamination can also affect the quality of food and drinking water consumed.
Health problems that can be triggered by water pollution include:
1. diarrhea,
2. dysentery,
3. hepatitis,
4. cholera, and
5. eye infection.
Not only that, water pollution can also occur in rivers and oceans, thereby disrupting aquatic ecosystems.
If this happens, the fresh water and seawater fish that you consume can also be contaminated.
5. Make organic soap
Instead of throwing used cooking oil into the trash, you can use it as an ingredient in soap making.
The study entitled Product Soap from Waste Cooking Oil (2020) conducted an experiment to make soap using used cooking oil.
As a result, the researchers found that used cooking oil can be used as a soap ingredient after going through a series of purification processes.
In addition, this used cooking oil is a by-product, so it still needs the main ingredient for making soap and other mixtures so that it is safe for the skin.
There are a number of ways to use used cooking oil. Remember, from now on, don’t throw away used cooking oil at home! According to SF Water Power Sewer How to Properly Dispose of Used Cooking Oil