Cooking oil recycling: from kadai to biodiesel
What happens to used cooking oil after it leaves your kitchen, and why recycling it beats reusing it or throwing it away.
How used cooking oil is recycled
Waste vegetable oil goes through four stages before it ends up as fuel.
Collected
Weighed and collected from hotels, restaurants and food businesses.
Pooled
Filtered and pooled, then carried in drums or steel tankers.
Processed
Biodiesel makers clean the oil and convert it into biodiesel.
Used as fuel
The biodiesel is blended into diesel for trucks, pickups and generators.
Why recycling used cooking oil matters
Frying oil that is reused again and again forms compounds that are bad for health. Oil poured into drains blocks pipes and pollutes water. Recycling it into biodiesel solves both problems and turns a kitchen waste into a fuel. This is the idea behind FSSAI's RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil) initiative.
For biodiesel and oleochemical companies
Looking for used cooking oil suppliers? Reviron collects used cooking oil from kitchens across Karnataka and can supply it in bulk, weighed and recorded at every pickup. Write to info@wecollectusedoil.com to discuss supply.
Questions about cooking oil recycling
What is used cooking oil recycled into?
Mostly biodiesel. Used cooking oil can also be used to make soap, lubricants and other non-food products, but it must never go back into food.
What is waste vegetable oil?
Waste vegetable oil, also called used cooking oil or UCO, is vegetable oil that has been used for frying and is no longer fit for cooking.
Is biodiesel from used cooking oil good for the environment?
It reuses a waste that would otherwise be dumped or reused in food, and replaces part of the fossil diesel that would have been burned.
Do you supply used cooking oil to biodiesel plants?
Yes. Reviron collects used cooking oil from many kitchens and supplies it in bulk. Biodiesel and oleochemical companies can contact us at info@wecollectusedoil.com.