When it comes to cooking, there are so many choices or decisions to make. There’s the part where you have to decide what to cook either based on preference or by what is available to be eaten. There’s also the part where you have to select the best ingredients e.g seasoning and cooking oil to use to ensure your meals come out in the nicest way possible. Perhaps some other time, we would focus on determining the best kind of cooking oil to use for your meals. But for now, let us direct our focus to know all about recycling of cooking oil.
As the name implies, cooking oil is basically any kind of oil used in cooking meals. It could be groundnut oil, vegetable oil, Palm oil, etc. Whatever cooking oil you have adopted will be extremely useful for frying and cooking and will give the meal the extra greasy feel it needs. But then, aside from the cooking part, there’s the environmental concern being raised.
Do you feel these cooking oil can be recycled? If yes, which particular type can be recycled or does recycling apply to all types of cooking oil? Can cooking oil be composted? Are there other ways to reuse cooking oil? We understand you are curious to find answers. Don’t worry, we will tell you all about recycling cooking oil. Subsequently, we shall address other similarly critical issues.
As usual, this article is filled with a lot of knowledge that you cannot afford to miss out on. If you are curious or enthusiastic to learn from this article, what are you waiting for? Let’s jump at it.
Is Cooking Oil Recyclable?
It seems quite odd that cooking oil will be considered for recycling. Well, the recycling world has expanded so largely that there are hardly any things you cannot recycle. Now, to our million-dollar question, “is cooking oil recyclable?’ the answer is Yes. Cooking oils are absolutely recyclable.
This might come as a surprise to you, but it’s simple really. Cooking oils are capable of being filtered and recycled because it possesses BTU value. Hence it can be made into other products like cosmetics, stockfeed, bio-fuel, etc.
So yes, cooking oils are recyclable once they are taken to the proper recycling plant for conversion into oil products. However, not all recycling stations have the capacity to take up the recycling of cooking oil because of the special process and equipment that would be needed. Hence, you would have to reach out to the recycling facility first to find out if they accept cooking oil for recycling.
If they do not accept them, be sure to dispose of the oil properly. The importance of proper disposal of oil cannot be overstated because the wrong disposal can lead to plumbing as well as environmental problems.
Can You Recycle All Types of Cooking Oil?
In the recycling of cooking oils, a pertinent question that might still be on your mind is if it’s possible to recycle all types of cooking oil or recycling is applicable to just some types of cooking oil.
Well, the truth is, all types of cooking oil can be recycled, ranging from vegetable oil, palm oil to groundnut oil and so many others not enlisted here.
Not only can all types of cooking oil be recycled but they can also be used for the creation of biodiesel. This basically entails oil from most of the types of food like – grease from bacon, pig meat, fish oil, vegetable oil, chicken, etc.
To be honest, if you are a chef or you own a restaurant, and you are not recycling your cooking oil, you are definitely missing out. How could you have such resources and allow everything to go to waste? If you have been carefree about your used cooking oil, this is the time to make a change.
Recycling all your cooking oils will help provide an income stream for lots of eateries and restaurants
So Yes, you can recycle all types of cooking oil.
Can You Compost Cooking Oil?
Like every other thing, you have come across, the ability to cook oil to be composted has to be examined as well.
Composting is now a huge deal and for good reason, but sometimes the rules as regards what can be composted can be quite confusing at times. This is why we have to thoroughly examine each item one after the other.
So here, our focal question is, ‘can you compost cooking oil?’
The answer is Yes, you can compost cooking oil. However, the answer is not that straightforward, but we will explain.
Cooking oil can be composted because the products are mostly organic. For instance, vegetable oil is obtained from vegetables. So yes, you can actually compost cooking oil. The only condition here is that it can only be compostable in very small amounts. Adding too much cooking oil to compost can slow down the process of composting, so it has to be very little.
If not, there would be too much oil which would form a blockade or resistance for water around all other items. As such the airflow will become reduced drastically and water will be displaced. And we all know by now that both air and water are quite important for composting.
So basically, when you want to compost cooking oil, it should be in small amounts to avoid having the compost pile become anaerobic and really smelly.
If you are employing the services of a composting company, similar rules also apply, but first, check with them. And in the event that you decide not to compost your cooking oil, do not for any reason rinse the oil down the drain. That is going to be a very bad idea because it can cause clogging of the drainage.
10 Amazing Ways To Reuse Used Cooking Oil
In the present day, there are so many ways for you to put your creativity to a test with the various things that you have. What is basically needed is for you to devote your time and willingness to tap into your creative edge. With both time devotion and willingness, you would definitely be shocked at what you can achieve irrespective of the kind of resources we use.
For our cooking oil, the story is basically the same. You can always repurpose your used cooking oil and find new and different uses for your used cooking oil. We know trying to think up these uses can be somewhat challenging, not to worry though. We have got you covered.
For this part of the article, we will tell you about ten various ways for you to reuse your used cooking oil. Sit back, relax and keep reading
1. Lubricant For The Household
Making use of your used cooking oil can be a quite effective and efficient lubricant for lubricating so many surfaces within and around your house, ranging from squeaking doors to difficult locks. If you have a stubborn lock that keeps sticking to the key or gives you a hard time opening and closing, then some used cooking oil might come in handy.
Additionally, cooking oil can be used to prevent metal surfaces from rusting as well as other metal objects and tools in the house. There is almost nothing within the house you cannot use cooking oil for lubricating, it will definitely help to reduce the friction as well as minimize heating.
2. Oil For Lamps
If by chance you have lamp oil in your house, you can definitely make use of your used cooking oil for fueling the lamp. It is in fact a good source of fuel. With this, you will be saving a considerable amount of money on your lamp fuel.
3. Polishing Of Furniture
Another very creative way to make use of your used cooking oil is by using it as some sort of furniture polish. So, should you have scratched or dull-looking furniture in your house, used cooking oil would be very effective in restoring its shine simply by applying and polishing thoroughly. All you need to do is to prepare a mixture that is half cooking oil and half vinegar and apply it to the affected furniture.
4. Preservation Of Leather
To be honest, it seems like the cooking oil is a gift that keeps on giving because who would have thought you can use your used cooking oil to preserve and soften your leather furniture? Alas, it’s very possible.
5. Furniture Protector
The furniture in question here is rattan and wicker furniture which are characterized by their vulnerability to cracking. However, with the help of some cooking oil on their surfaces, it helps to protect them from cracks.
6. Paint-Stain Removal
Are you finding it hard to get rid of paint stains on any surface? With some used cooking oil rubbed gently on the surface, the paint would come off easily after a period of about five minutes. After which you can then wash your hand with some soap and water.
7. Hair Moisturizer
Having dry hair and dry scalp? You can make use of used vegetable oil to moisturize your hair. Simply heat up to half a cup of oil to about room temperature, massage into your hair and scalp. after a while, wash with some shampoo and rinse off to remove excess oil.
8. Animal Feed
Making use of used cooking oil for animal feed can actually come in handy in different ways. You can just sprinkle some oil on your pet’s food either a cat or a dog. It improves the taste of their food and keeps their coats shiny.
9. Fuel
This should not be a surprise if you have been following this post from the beginning. You can use your used cooking oil for fuel once it has been processed or recycled. Most times, they are always converted into biodiesel fuel.
10. Car cleaner
Used oil can also be used for cleaning cars, removing tough dirt that has gotten stuck to the car surface. All you need to do is just put a little oil on a rag or towel. Apply pressure and clean the car surface to effectively allow the dirt, bugs, pollen, etc to fall off.
Other uses for your used cooking oil include but are not limited to; composting, non-stick gardening tools, pot and pan protectors, soap making, etc. I’m sure by now you can quite agree that cooking oil is really the gift that keeps on giving.
Conclusion
The advantages of cooking Oil in the house cannot be overstated. They are quite important for human beings to properly carry out cooking. So, while you take time to appreciate the immense value of cooking oil, you should also evaluate and assess its impact on the environment. Although, little or otherwise, this impact would eventually tell on the environment in the long run.
