Where to dispose of used oil?

Where do you throw away used oil?

Where do you throw away used oil? That’s the big question! It’s a big mistake to throw away used frying oil down the sink. We should wait for the used oil to cool before placing it in a plastic soda or mineral water bottle. We should then throw the bottle away in the used oil container.

We must be aware of the importance of not polluting our planet and recycling. It doesn’t matter if it’s Arbequina olive oil or Picual olive oil; throwing oil down the sink or drain, out of ignorance or lack of knowledge, is outrageous.

Nothing could be further from the truth than to think that olive oil circulating through the sewage system will feed the flora and fauna that inhabit the planet’s rivers and seas. Quite the opposite! Oil forms a film that blocks oxygen circulation and suffocates living beings that inhabit the contaminated environment, as happened, for example, with the Prestige.

In figures, one liter of olive or sunflower oil contaminates about 40,000 liters of water, the equivalent of one person’s annual consumption! Therefore, we see the extreme importance of knowing where to dispose of used oil.

Furthermore, pouring oil down the sink will cause major drain damage, blockages, or even burst pipes due to the formation and accumulation of grease balls. If we put the oil in a closed bottle or container and throw it in the trash, the bottle or container will surely end up crushed during transport, and the oil will be scattered in the landfill.

Little by little, it will be carried away by rainwater and will end up filtering into the ground, springs, or natural water reservoirs. This will cause a disaster similar to the previous one.

Throw away used oil at a recycling center

These are recycling containers similar to those we already have for plastic, glass, or paper. In fact, they are already being installed en masse in large cities, designed to dispose of olive oil, among other things.

Olive oil can be recycled, so it’s worth making this small effort. It’s a matter of habits, and with this habit, we’ll avoid further pollution and make the purification work easier.

Oil solidifiers?

There are several brands on the market, such as Frito Limpio, and they are very easy to use. When you’re done frying with the oil you want to recycle, simply pour a tablespoon (about 10 grams) of the product into it for every 1/4 liter of oil used.

The mixture should be hot, so if the oil has cooled, you should warm it up a little. After half an hour, it will solidify and you can store it until you can recycle it like a bar of soap.

We can find Frito Limpio at any Carrefour or buy it online on their website. The online price is around €1.50, plus shipping costs.