Shropshire powers ahead with cooking oil recycling

Staff from Shropshire Council and Veolia are celebrating the success of a green energy iniative which has seen them presented with an official certificate of commendation in recognition of the fact that 6,740 Litres of used cooking oil has collected from Household Recycling Centres in Shropshire in the last year alone.

The cooking oil collected by renewable energy provider Living Fuels was refined into a green biofuel which has been used in their dedicated combined heat and power generators to create 25,275 kWh of green electricity.


The big green tanks are clearly marked and are now in place at:

• Shrewsbury HRC (Battlefield Enterprise Park)

• Oswestry HRC (Mile Oak Industrial Estate)

• Bridgnorth HRC (Barnsley Lane)

• Whitchurch HRC (Waymills Civic Park)

• Craven Arms HRC (off Long Lane)

Donald Macphail, Regional Director for Veolia in the Midlands said “Just one litre of used cooking oil generates enough clean electricity to make 240 cups of tea, whilst one tonne provides enough to power the average home for an entire year. This offsets the need for fossil fuels to create electricity which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”

Larry Wolfe, Head of Waste Management at Shropshire Council added, "It's great that the public have responded well to this new recycling initiative. By bringing their used cooking oil to our Household Recycling Centres they are helping to reduce the amount of rubbish which ends up in landfill."

For more about the used cooking oil recycling process, visit www.livingfuels.co.uk  

Top tips for recycling your used cooking oil:

1. Allow the oil to cool completely before dealing with it

2. Strain it into a container such as an plastic bottle or jar with a lid

3. Don’t mix it with anything (solvents, water etc) or it wont be recyclable

4. Once full, take your oil to a HRC (don’t make a specific trip but wait until you are visiting anyway or are in the area)

5. Ask the site attendants for directions or assistance if you need it

6. The oil should be poured into the clearly marked tanks