Cooking Oil Waste

WA S T E C O O K I N G O I L

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Introduction Waste cooking oils, also known as used cooking oils or recovered vegetable oils result from the cooking of food by home cookers, food manufacturers and catering establishments such as restaurants and industrial kitchens. We are looking at the health hazards of re-using cooking oil more than once and the effects of improper disposal of waste cooking oils. Background Re-using cooking oil The use of cooking oil more than once poses threats to the health of the community. A toxic compound –

4-hydroxy-trans-2-nonenal (HNE)

normally accumulate over time in some vegetable oils (e.g. corn, soybean, canola, sunflower oils) and this will react with amino acids, DNA and other biomolecules in the human body. HNE consumption can lead to diseases such as heart diseases, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, liver and other diseases (Csallany in Morrison, 2006). Hence people are advised to refrain from heating any oil to the 1point of smoking and should never reuse the same cooking oil when cooking at home. If eating out, they should avoid eating fried food (Mercola, 2005). Improper disposal of used cooking oil The improper disposal of used cooking oil includes disposing them down the sink and drain, onto the ground, and into the garbage. Blocked house drains and sewers

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The smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which the oil begins to decompose and visible fumes (smoke) are given off. The oil begins to breakdown creating acreolein , an obnoxious-smelling compound.

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Liquefied fat, oil, or grease (FOG) that is poured down the kitchen sink drain can cause serious impacts. FOG can cling to the insides of pipes and the sewer system. Over time, it can build up and can eventually block pipes completely. If wastewater can’t move freely through pipes and out into the sewer system, it can back up into your home and can cause unsanitary conditions and damages that can be expensive to repair. (Department of Environmental Protection, 2006) Problems of “logging” When waste oil is poured down the house drains and sewers, “logging” problems will arise. This is because the soil will become sealed off from air and water, killing the earth worms and bacteria necessary for regeneration of plants (ENFO, 2006). Production of bacteria The production of bacteria will arise due to the accumulation of the solid oil waste (ENFO, 2006). Disastrous effects on birds, fish and plant life All life forms need water to live. When used cooking oil is poured down the house drains, some of the drain systems will lead to the rivers, streams or ponds. This oil will be dumped into it and causes a disastrous effect on any kind of life forms in the rivers, streams or ponds such as killing fishes and water plants. Oil is poisonous to birds and kills them. It sticks to their feathers which preventing them from flying and keeping their body warm (ENFO, 2006). In rivers, streams or ponds When used cooking oils are dumped into rivers, streams or ponds, it is difficult to remove them. It is because that 1 litre of oil will contaminate 1 million litres of water (ENFO, 2006). Economically…

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More money is spent in fixing property damage caused from sewage backups resulting in expensive clean up and plumbing repairs. Clogged sewers can also lead to overflows, which can runoff into the street and straight into the storm drain system, and eventually into our creeks and streams without being treated. Again, more money is needed to mitigate this problem. Situation in Brunei Presently, there are no proper facilities for the disposal of waste cooking oil wastes in Brunei Darussalam. In addition to that, there is no enforcement on the use of the guidelines of proper waste disposal. Findings The improper disposal of waste cooking oil in Brunei is not, at present, a big threat to the environment according to the DOE (Personal Communicator). It is a requirement in all restaurants to have a grease trap in their kitchen to dispose their solid and liquid wastes properly (DOH). The wastes are disposed in this trap which will be collected by a company (i.e. Thomas Cowan) and be treated before dumping it at a dumping site. Such trap or service is not, however, available in housing areas. We conducted a survey where we collected 74 responses with a questionnaire (see appendice). It can be concluded that not many are aware of the environmental effects of disposing used cooking oil improperly. More than half the total informants know the real effect of disposing cooking oil improperly but only 25 informants (about 1/3 of the total informants) believe there is a better way to dispose the cooking oil. Many believe that re-using used cooking oil can have a long term adverse effect to the body. Most of them associated consuming food cooked with used cooking oil with high cholesterol and heart diseases.

However, with this awareness they still re-use their

cooking oil. This is mainly due to the cheap availability of used oil. Some restaurants owners were found to ‘donate’ their used cooking oil to needy ones or to hawkers at the Pasar Malam Gadong. Conclusion

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The main problem in Brunei in reference to waste cooking oil is that there are no proper guidelines for the public, for disposing cooking oil properly. Although the relevant authorities say it is not a big threat, they do agree that this kind of problem can be handled by minimising reused cooking oil. There is no formal public awareness of the health consequences of reusing used cooking oil in their cooking.

References: Department of Environmental Protection staff (2006). Grease Disposal Tips for Consumers. Retrieved August, 30th 2006 from http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/congrease.html ENFO staff (2006). Recycling Oil. Retrieved September, 3rd 2006 from http://www.enfo.ie/leaflets/as27.htm Mercola (2005). The Surprising Toxic Effects of Vegetable Oils. Retrieved September, 25th 2006 from http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/28/vegetable_oils.htm Morrison (2006). Change your oil everyday: Reusing Vegetable Oil for frying could have health consequences. Retrieved September, 3rd 2006 from http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/Change_your_oil_every_day.h tml

Appendice Sample survey (questionnaire) UNIVERSITI BRUNEI DARUSSALAM This survey will be used for our course PS3403: A Multidisciplinary Approach for a Sustainable Environment group project regarding “USED COOKING OIL WASTE”. Any matters regarding this survey/questionnaire will be kept as confidential.

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Please tick in the appropriate box. 1. Age: 20 below 2. Sex: Male:

20-25

25-30

30-35

35 above

Female :

3. How many liters of cooking oil do you purchase per month on average? 1 litre 2 – 5 litres 6 – 10 litres Over 10 litres 4. Do you keep and reuse the cooking oil after you have used it for frying? Yes No 5. How do you dispose your used cooking oil? (*You can tick more than 1 box) Sink Drain Garbage bin Soil Road Others, please state 6. What is the effect of disposing used cooking oil in the way you have disposed it? 7. Is there a better way to dispose off your used cooking oil? Y / N If yes, what are other better method(s) of disposing your used cooking oil? 8. What do you think are the consequences of using too much oil in cooking? 9. How can used cooking oil be recycled? 10. If cooking oil waste can be recycled in Brunei, would you travel and send them to the recycling centre? Yes No Don’t Care

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