Why Recycle Your Used Cooking Oil?

You might be wondering why you should recycle your used cooking oil but before looking at those benefits that might help you make your decision let’s take a closer look at what the end product from recycling used cooking oil is.

Bio-diesel

is a clean burning fuel that is formed by recycling cooking oil through a chemical process called ‘Transesterification’. It is a diesel fuel substitute that can be used in diesel engines made from renewable materials such as plaint oils and waste cooking oil. Bio-diesel is mixed with diesel to create a blend. This blend is comprised of pure bio-diesel, also referred to as B100, blended with petroleum diesel at varying concentrations (Bn). The n refers to the percentage of bio-diesel in the blend. In its pure form bio-diesel is known as B100 (meaning 100% bio-diesel; a mix with 5% bio-diesel is called B5).

When looking at the positive impacts that bio-diesel there are two main types of benefits which are Environmental and Economic.

Environmental Benefits

There are several positive aspects of using bio-diesel instead of regular fossil fuels:

• Renewability: Bio-diesel is produced using renewable resources (used cooking oil) whereas fossil fuels are heavily dependent on non-renewable resources. Therefore, making bio-diesel a much better alternative when looking at the sustainability of the resource itself.
• Burns cleaner: Fossil fuels are known to emit harmful chemicals into the atmosphere and increase the emission of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, etc.) which are major factors to climate change.
• Diverts Waste: Instead of waste oils being dumped into landfills they can be recycled to create an alternative energy source.

Economic Benefits

There are many different ways in which businesses and the economy can benefit from using bio-diesel and recycling waste oils:

• Local Businesses: Bio-diesel can be produced locally in Canada and has the potential to provide local economies with a new market for their products and waste.
• Job Creation: If bio-diesel can be incorporated into the energy sector it will encourage new business opportunities, investments and employment.
• Individual Businesses: Signing on up with a waste oil collection company like EcoZero can provide businesses with a small revenue stream through payments for collecting their used cooking oil.

Although it is not a commonly used transport fuel, it promises to be viable alternative with the increasing pressures of rising oil prices and the need for a sustainable environment. By using bio-diesel and recycling used cooking oils companies can see the above benefits and increase the sustainability of their practices while reducing the dependence on foreign oil.