At NSO Oil, we get numerous enquiries from our clients about the differences between used cooking oil and waste cooking oil.
As the names suggest, they could be mistaken as being the same product. While both do come from using a range of animal, vegetable and frying oils, the term ultimately refers to how the oil is treated after cooking, as well as the waste cooking oil collection that is in place with each business.
Used Cooking Oil
Used cooking oil, if stored properly, can be recycled for a variety of different purposes by the right used cooking oil collection service.
Often converted to biodiesel, used cooking oil can be an eco-friendly fuel source for vehicles, heating devices and even generators because it burns with very few fumes and also produces no carbon monoxide.
Used cooking oil can even be repurposed as animal feed and some pig farmers may still use it today. While cooking oil is typically dirty after use, that in no way warrants it being thrown away.
Waste Cooking Oil
Waste cooking oil usually refers to disposable cooking oil. While cooking oil can be disposed of in households, providing it is in small quantities, it is illegal for any commercial business to do this and they must use a cooking oil waste collection.
However, waste cooking oil still accounts for 75% of water companies call-outs. Not only does the build up of fats and grease slow down and stop the flow of water, it can also pollute oceans.
The Answer…
Be that as it may, seven times as much oil is wasted than that of oil which is recycled for other purposes. So in terms of reducing the amount of commercial oil waste, there is something a lot of companies can still do to reduce their oil waste levels.
Sustainability is incredibly important to us when running our waste collection services, so it is imperative all businesses pick a responsible oil waste collection service such as ours and safely store their used oil appropriately in containers such as the ones we provide.