Used food oils can be turned into bio-diesel fuel and alleviate energy shortages, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday, urging families and small businesses to join the fight against the energy crisis.
"Since September 1st last year, the administration has mandated organizations in the public and private sectors to turn in their used frying oil to certified recycling collection agencies so that the oil can be made into diesel fuel," the director-general of the EPA's Solid Waste Control Ho Soong-chin (
Mandated organizations included all schools, governmental departments, fast food chains and food manufacturers, Ho said.
She also said that local governments have handed out collection buckets and coached cleaners to register their collection amounts online.
2,500 TONNES
The EPA estimates that with the current collection capacity, about 2,500 tonnes of waste oil could be collected annually, she said, although families generally do not produce a lot of used frying oil.
"The EPA is concurrently promoting the separation of domestic kitchen waste and oil waste -- in view of the rising fuel shortage domestic users should also join in and recycle their oils," she said.
FOOD STALLS
Street food stalls, many of which sell fried foods, are the EPA's next targets for its promotional programs, she said.
"Vegetable oils, lard, butter or other animal fats including oil drippings from roasting meats, should all be considered waste oils and be collected," she said.
"Simply place them in plastic tubs and hand them to your local garbage truck staff," she said.
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