Durham County Council is encouraging residents to recycle their used cooking oil at 12 household waste recycling centres throughout the county.
The new initiative, organised by the council in partnership with waste contractor HW Martin Waste Ltd, will enable residents to dispose of their used oil in a safe and environmentally friendly manner in specially designed collection tanks.
Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, said: “It’s really important that people dispose of cooking oil safely and not pour it down the sink, because it can block drains, get into watercourses and threaten wildlife.
“By recycling the oil it helps to reduce landfill waste and produces an alternative energy source which is cleaner and greener.”
Once the oil is collected, it is naturally recovered by eco-firm Living Fuels into a clean, green bio-liquid for use in renewable energy facilities which produce carbon neutral electricity for the National Grid.
Rob Murphy, Living Fuels’ operations director, commented: “We’re delighted that people in Durham will be collecting their used cooking oil and recycling residents can be proud that they will be helping to improve the environment for us all.
“Just one litre of used cooking oil can power a laptop for 160 hours, or make 240 cups of tea. One full tank can power the average home for an entire year.”
Steve Hodges, contract manager at HW Martin Waste Ltd, continued: “We are really pleased that we’ve been able to bring cooking oil recycling to the household waste recycling centres since we took over their management in June.
“It makes a huge difference to local residents wanting to dispose of the oil in an environmentally friendly way and reduce the effects of pollution.”
Further information about recycling in County Durham is available at www.durham.gov.uk/recycling or by contacting Durham County Council on 03000 26 1000.
