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Best Practices  /  Focus on Fryers  /  Maintain, filter, & recycle

Step 2: Maintain, filter, and recycle

...your used cooking oil

 

 

Keep in mind that you can reduce oil waste without limiting the crispy, fried foods you serve your guests.

As the interest in oil recycling grows, there are more opportunities available to help you fry more efficiently and save money too.

Maintain and filter your cooking oil to ensure quality taste and avoid waste.

Are you prematurely changing your oil? If so, you’re wasting a valuable resource you could use more times by filtering it. Skim the oil every two hours and filter oil twice daily to remove unwanted food particles and contaminants.

This regular filtering process also prolongs the life of your cooking oil, allowing you to reduce the amount purchased. Reducing your number of deliveries and empty jugs to recycle is a win-win.

Recycle used cooking oil for even smarter sustainable savings.

Used fats, oils, and grease (FOG) can cause serious sewer system blockages if not disposed of in proper containers. Along with proper disposal, consider recycling used cooking oil for sustainable savings (and even profits).

Success story

Fryer oil to biodiesel

Emory University’s biodiesel program is set up so that all used fryer oils from the university and its healthcare campus are recycled into biodiesel locally with the resulting product used to fuel their “Cliff” bus fleet. Learn more from the Georgia Restaurant Association here.

Many companies are interested converting your used fryer oil into biodiesel, so FOGs can even create some revenue. Negotiate rates and services with your local FOG haulers/biodiesel production companies. Some haulers will provide the storage containers and clean grease traps as part of your contract. The regular filtering we discussed earlier will also help create higher-quality used grease for recycling.

Video: Filter your cooking oil


 

Next step — Cooking efficiently: Use efficient frying techniques…