As a restaurant owner, you’re well aware of the regulations surrounding the proper disposal of used cooking oil. But getting your employees to have the same understanding can sometimes be a challenge, especially in a fast-paced environment. Below are the best practices to share with your employees to help ensure your used cooking oil disposal goes smoothly and abides by the law.
What Is Grease Dumping?
Grease dumping happens when used oil is poured down a drain. It’s illegal, which is the first and most important thing you should reiterate to your employees about used cooking oil disposal. Pouring oil down drains causes costly repairs for restaurants and wreaks havoc on the environment. The oil eventually finds its way into the sewers and waste management facilities that are not equipped to handle fats, greases and oils (FOG). There’s also a major fire hazard associated with grease dumping.
Best Practices for Employees
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the hospitality industry generates 3 billion gallons of waste cooking oil per year. Imagine what would happen if all of that oil was not recycled or disposed of properly. To avoid major damage to your establishment, community and environment, here’s what you need to train your employees to do:
- Pour cooking oils into an empty, sturdy container, which SeQuential provides for you when your establishment signs up for our free oil recycling service
- Absorb any remaining FOG left on the pan or in the grease trap with a paper towel before cleaning it in the sink or dishwasher, and use absorbent paper beneath fryer baskets
- In the instance of a spill, mix the oil with sawdust, cat litter, flour or another absorbent material before throwing it in the trash
- Keep an up-to-date service log after all oil disposals and grease trap cleanings that can be made available to inspectors
For more information read our tips about best practices for handling used cooking oil.
Recycle with SeQuential
With a proper oil management system in place, you and your employees can rest assured that your establishment’s used cooking oil disposal is done right. SeQuential’s fee-free oil collection service gives restaurants the opportunity to recycle their used cooking oil. We’ll provide you with a free collection container, customized pick-up schedules to meet your needs, and haul the oil away at no cost to you. We then transform it into sustainable, low carbon renewable fuel. To set up a regular used oil collection service schedule for your business, call SeQuential at 1 (800) 447-3794 today.