For restaurants and commercial kitchens, used cooking oil is a recyclable resource with real value.
Our team at Green Mountain Products has spent four generations working with animal and vegetable oils. We know what clean used cooking oil looks like, and we also know what can happen when everything “including the kitchen sink” ends up in the same container. What goes into your used cooking oil container matters.
Water, food debris, fryer-cleaning products and other waste can contaminate used cooking oil, making it harder to recycle and potentially reduce its value. Keeping your oil clean does not require a complicated process, but good habits and attention to detail.
Here is what restaurant owners, managers and kitchen teams should know.
Why Clean Used Cooking Oil Matters
Once your cooking oil has finished its job in the fryer, it still has another life ahead of it.
Used cooking oil can be collected and recycled into products such as biodiesel and other renewable fuel applications. Green Mountain’s own recycling process helps put that material back to work rather than treating it simply as waste. The company’s circular economy story includes recycled oil being used in fuel applications for trucks, trains, aviation ground fleets and backup generators.
The cleaner the oil is when it is collected, the better.
Clean used cooking oil is easier to handle and process. It can also help restaurants protect the value of the oil they are recycling.
According to Charlie Ballinger, Account Manager at Green Mountain, “The good news is that keeping it clean is mostly about keeping a few things out.”
1.Keep Water Out
Water and used cooking oil do not mix, literally or operationally.
Make sure your used cooking oil storage container stays properly closed when it is not being used. A closed lid helps prevent rainwater and other outside contaminants from entering the container.
This is one reason Green Mountain spends time with customers when a new container is installed. A little education goes a long way in making sure you restaurant staff is in-the-know.
2.Filter Food Debris Before It Reaches the Container
Food particles, breading and other debris should be filtered out of cooking oil before the oil is transferred to the collection container.
Charlie explains, “When hot oil containing significant food debris is dumped into a large container and cools, that debris-heavy material can eventually solidify. As Charlie describes it, it can essentially turn into a “rock”. That makes the material more difficult to handle and recycle and can affect the rate a restaurant receives for its oil.
3.Keep Fryer-Cleaning Chemicals Out
Cleaning the fryer and recycling its oil are two separate processes.
When employees clean fryers, cleaning products and other liquids should not be emptied into the used cooking oil container. Green Mountain specifically advises customers to filter their oil and keep fryer cleaners out of their collection containers.
This is a small operational detail that is worth including in employee training, particularly when new kitchen employees are learning closing or fryer-cleaning procedures.
4.Keep Trash and Other Waste Out
A used cooking oil container is not a dumpster.
Gloves, paper towels, packaging, food waste and general trash can all contaminate a load. Make sure employees understand exactly what the container is for and keep the area around it clean and accessible.
5.Close the lid. Every time.
A properly closed container helps protect your used cooking oil from rainwater, trash and other contaminants.
It also supports another important issue for restaurants: protecting valuable used cooking oil from theft. Anti-theft support is one of the core service benefits Green Mountain handles in our education and onboarding process.
6.Use the Right Size Container and Pickup Schedule
Keeping used cooking oil clean is only part of managing it well. Restaurants also need the right storage capacity and a reliable pickup schedule.
Our Green Mountain team always adjusts the pickup schedule based on actual volume.
Charlie says “the goal is to service containers at around 80% full. Green Mountain would rather error on the side of servicing a customer early than get the Friday night call that the container is full.”
Green Mountain Products has been working with animal and vegetable oils for four generations. Today, we help restaurants and commercial kitchens throughout the region make used cooking oil collection simple, reliable and worthwhile.
Ready for a better way to manage your restaurant’s used cooking oil? Contact Charlie at Green Mountain Products to learn more about used cooking oil collection and recycling services for your business. Call 740-217-8300