How Do You Dispose of Frying Oil?

You must not simply dispose of old frying oil down the drain, in the toilet, or in the compost bin. For smaller amounts, your residual waste is the right place, but for larger amounts, you have to go to your local recycling center to dispose of old cooking oil. Take the task of properly disposing of frying oil seriously – otherwise, depending on the federal state, you could face a fine of up to 1,500 euros.

Dispose of frying oil – this is how you do it right

Do you love fried calamari, Hungarian lángos or homemade fries? Then you are probably regularly faced with the question of how to dispose of the liquid frying oil after cooking. Before throwing it away, however, comes the sustainable use of frying fat – which not only saves money, but also ensures that only old oil that can no longer be used in the kitchen actually goes into the recycling cycle. You can reuse frying oil up to eight times by pouring it through a sieve or filter to remove suspended matter after cooking a meal. Stored in a sealed screw-top jar in a dark, cool place, the frying oil will keep for several months. If you have used it so often that you cannot use it again, you have several options for properly disposing of the frying oil.

How to dispose of frying oil: That’s why draining & compost are not a good idea

Even if you dispose of frying oil privately, you must be careful where you dispose of the frying oil. The old grease has no place in the sink or in the toilet, where it can get stuck in the pipes and clog them. You certainly don’t want to have to fight the consequences of this in your bathroom or kitchen. Organic bins or compost are also not the right places for old frying oil, because it does not decompose. Instead, it starts to stink in your bin or blocks decomposition processes on your compost heap. Small amounts of deep-frying oil, such as those usually found in private households, can be disposed of with the residual waste. However, do not just dump it in the bin, put it in the container you bought it in or some other sealable container first. We incinerate residual waste, and your used oil is even helpful in this process. If you would like to dispose of larger quantities of old fat, you can do this – usually for a fee – at your local recycling center. For this method, it makes sense to accumulate a certain amount of used oil to make the trip to the recycling center worthwhile.