As we all know, we shouldn’t be pouring cooking fat down the kitchen sink – while it’s convenient, it can harden and cause blockages in your pipes.
So how to get rid of used cooking oil, without blocking up your drains and causing problems? Let’s look into all the ways that you can do this.
How To Get Rid Of Used Cooking Oil
You probably already know that you shouldn’t be pouring your used cooking oil down the sink, to avoid problems with your drainpipes. But what do you do with it?
- You can add it to your regular food waste bin, if you have one – simply pour or scrape it into the rest of the food waste.
- If you do not have a food waste recycling service, take it to the local tip – place it in a sealed container and add it to the General Waste bin.
- Adding a small amount of used cooking oil to your everyday waste bin is acceptable, as long as you don’t have gallons of it!
- Ask at your local restaurants that use cooking oil if they will take it – many are involved in recycling programmes that turn used oil into biodiesel.
- If you have a lot of used oil, you can contact a licensed waste oil collection service that will be able to come and take it away for you.
However you dispose of your used cooking oil, make sure you do it legally and responsibly, to ensure that you don’t get any problems.
For more ideas on how to get rid of your used cooking oil, have a look at this video:
Can You Pour Vegetable Oil In The Ground?
If you are wondering what to do with your used cooking oil, it may be tempting to simply dispose of it in the garden… But is this a good idea?
Yes, it will fairly easily soak into the soil, and you may think that this way the problem has been removed.
However, some oils can be toxic to some plants, and your herbaceous borders may not thank you for this!
Another problem is that the smells from the oil can attract vermin such as mice and rats, and other unwelcome visitors to your garden.
In some cases, the used oil mixed with food can start to rot, bringing mould and other unwanted pathogens to your environment.
If dirty used oil finds its way into the waterways, it can cause problems for plants and wildlife living there.
The takeaway from this is that you shouldn’t, however tempting it is, pour your used cooking oil directly onto the ground.
Can I Put Cooking Oil In The Garden?
Interestingly, although it is not advised to put your used cooking oil directly onto the soil, you can add it to your compost pile.
Earthworms in particular really love cooking oil, so by adding it to your compost you will be providing a meal for these helpful little critters!
Do be careful though, as adding too much oil can clog up the compost pile and prevent air getting to it, thus halting the composting process.
If you mix your cooking oil with a little sawdust, not only will it be easier to store and dispose of, this will also add air to the compost.
One very important thing to remember is that you cannot add certain types of oil to your compost heap.
- 100% vegetable oils such as sunflower, coconut, grapeseed or corn oil are fine to add to your black gold.
- Animal fat, or oil that has been used to cook meat, is NOT suitable for home composting as it won’t break down in the same way as vegetable oils, and the smell can attract rats.
What Can I Mix With Cooking Oil To Dispose Of?
If you want to get rid of your cooking oil but you don’t just want to pour it into the bin, you can use various things to thicken it up
A popular method is to mix your oil with cat litter. This, but its nature, will absorb excess liquid and allow your oil to be “clumpy” rather than liquid.
You can also use sawdust mixed in with your oil – this is a great tip if you are planning on putting it into your compost bin.
Soil is another good bet – be sure to mix it in well as the soil won’t automatically absorb the thick liquid.
If you want to reuse your oil for something good, try using oats. If you warm your oil to liquid then stir in porridge oats, you have an instant, easy bird food.
Can A Diesel Engine Run On Used Cooking Oil?
The short answer is yes, the slightly longer answer is yes – but you really shouldn’t pour your used oil directly into your car!
If you are using used cooking oil, chances are there will be lots of particles of food in the oil, which can cause problems with your engine.
The oil must be thoroughly filtered, to remove bits of food and other types of impurities that will be present in the oil.
It is perfectly legal to use cooking oil to run your car, but it may not be the best thing for it in the long run.
If you have a newer car, we would definitely not recommend that you fill it with used cooking oil. Engines these days tend to be much more complicated, and harder to fix!
An older engine is often less reliant on an ECU, and will not have as many delicate parts, so try it out on your old banger first.
This very detailed article will explain to you the ins and outs of using cooking oil in your diesel engine.
Final Words
When you’ve had a big cooking session, or cooked a lot of things in the deep fat fryer (or an air fryer), it can be hard to know what to do with all your waste oil.
Hopefully now we have given you some useful ideas about what you can do with your discarded cooking oil, so that it doesn’t cause you any problems.
