Abstract
The inappropriate disposal of millions of tons of domestically produced used cooking oil (UCO), either down domestic household drains or in landfill, causes significant detrimental effects on the environment but also constitutes the loss of a valuable resource, since used cooking oil is a sought-after feedstock for biodiesel production. This paper presents findings from a social reverse logistics system, called InnovOleum, for collecting and recycling domestic used cooking oil through schools. The disruptive, social aspect of InnovOleum derives from the provision of funds from the sale of the collected used cooking oil to be invested within the participating schools in ongoing environmental education and green infrastructure and technology. To date, over 200,000 Euros have been distributed to schools for this purpose. No other schemes with similar potential to fully harness the environmental and social benefits from the collection and conversion of domestically produced used cooking oil have been found in literature. This publication can therefore significantly contribute to the knowledge base and facilitate the transfer of this scheme elsewhere.
Highlights
Used cooking oil (UCO), or waste cooking oil as it is called, is edible oil of vegetable or animal origin that has been used to cook food to a point where it is no longer fit for that purpose.There are two main sources of UCO: Commercial UCO from hotels, restaurants and caterers (HORECA)and domestic UCO from households
This paper presents findings from a social reverse logistics system, called InnovOleum, for collecting and recycling domestic UCO through schools
In the school year 2017–2018, a total of 75,457 students became involved in InnovOleum through steady increase in the number of participating schools, reaching 376 schools, approximately 85% of their school’s participation, with the average amount of UCO collected per student amounting to 1.5 schools in Cyprus, in the 2017–2018 academic year (Table 1, Figure 1)
Summary
Used cooking oil (UCO), or waste cooking oil as it is called, is edible oil of vegetable or animal origin that has been used to cook food to a point where it is no longer fit for that purpose.There are two main sources of UCO: Commercial UCO from hotels, restaurants and caterers (HORECA)and domestic UCO (dUCO) from households. Accurate estimates of global UCO production are not available, due to lack of reporting and the great difficulties associated with estimating UCO production from oil consumption patterns. It is, estimated that at least 16.54 million tons (Mt) of UCO are produced every year among the largest producing countries and regions, i.e., China, Malaysia, the United States of America, Europe, Taiwan, Canada, and Japan [1]. In Europe, recent estimates suggest that 1.66 Mt of UCO are available, 0.854 Mt from the household sector and 0.806 Mt from the commercial sector [2].
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