City Encourages Residents to Recycle Fried Turkey Used Cooking Oil

COLUMBIA, SC – Deep fried turkey is a delight on Thanksgiving, but disposing the three to five gallons of leftover oil is always a challenge. City of Columbia residents can recycle used cooking oil from Thanksgiving and every other day of the year through the City’s used cooking oil recycling program, Southern Fried Fuel.

City of Columbia residents may drop off used cooking oil for recycling at the Public Works Facility, 2910 Colonial Drive, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The facility will be closed on Thursday, November 27, 2014 for Thanksgiving.

Cooking oil should be free of water, soap suds and food scraps, and should be transported in a clean, non-breakable, leak-proof container with a tight lid.

Southern Fried Fuels not only provides residents with a convenient way to recycle used cooking oil, it also:

1.   Saves money associated with waste water maintenance: When used cooking oil is poured down the kitchen sink, it ultimately causes blockages, backups and over flows, which costs an average of $1.5 million and 4,500 staff hours.

2.   Helps air quality and the environment: The cooking oil collected through the City will be recycled to make biodiesel and help power the City fleet on a cleaner-burning, renewable fuel that produces 15 to 75 percent fewer greenhouse emissions than conventional fuel.

3.   Benefits the local economy: Midlands Biofuels collects the used cooking oil and converts it into a Certified South Carolina product, keeping money in the Midlands and supporting local economies.

For more information on the City’s used cooking oil recycling program, visithttp://columbiasc.net/solid-waste/cooking-oil or call Solid Waste at 803-545-3800.