Fry responsibly: How to correctly dispose of used cooking oils

There is a very special kind of waste that can have a second chance and turn into an additional revenue stream for many food businesses. It is the so-called UCO, which stands for used cooking oils.

By frying meals, every food business produces UCO. To prevent its dispersal in the environment and improper reuse, which can both be dangerous, UCO must be disposed of following the local waste management regulations.

To make the UCO collection easy to manage, Eni Kenya has set up, and is developing a supply chain by cooperating with the hotels, restaurants, and catering (HORECA) industry, as well as with food processing companies and food delivery platforms. If involved in the Eni Kenya UCO collection flow, these players can correctly dispose of their used cooking oils and receive a financial contribution for the waste they make available to be collected.

Once collected, UCO can have a second chance and be transformed into hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel.

HVO biofuel is produced from waste feedstock and residues from the processing of vegetable oils, used cooking oil, animal fats, and vegetable oils, from drought-resistant crops in degraded, semi-arid, or abandoned soils.

Further information is available here (English and Swahili).