I have a deep-fryer containing about 3 liters of cooking oil that is now getting old and nasty. We are always told not to pour it down the sink. What would be the consequences if I did? Can anyone suggest another, better way to dispose of it (one that will not be an enormous hassle and/or expense)? Please note that I live in an upstairs flat with no access to a garden or backyard, and the only means I have to get rid of normal trash is to leave it out in the street, on the appointed day, in a black bag for collection. (Bins? Luxury!)
For smaller amounts of oil, I use a trick that my ex-wife taught me. I pour it into an old tin can that I then put into the freezer so the oil solidifies. Then I put the can of frozen oil into the trash bag before it is put out to be collected. I do not think that that is going to work for this amount, though, because, first of all, I do not have enough room in my freezer for all those cans, and, secondly, the stuff is going to melt and produce a plastic bag full of oil to be collected, which I do not think is going to work (especially as we sometimes get foxes attacking the bags). When there is just one can, there is probably enough trash in the bag to absorb the oil when it melts, but that will not be so in this case.
I am strongly tempted to just pour it down the sink, or maybe the toilet. Will that be very bad?
If you can’t take it to the country and pour it in a yard. I would get the biggest pots I have and boil a bunch of water. I would then run my tap on hot for a while before pouring the oil in and follow up that with the boiling water.
I think you could pour it down the toilet anyway if it’s veg oil - it’s not solid at room temperature is it?
If you’re worried though, you could emulsify it first. I’d try heating it up a bit and adding a few scoops of washing powder. Stir well, dilute a litre at a time in a pan, then pour down the sink accompanied by very hot water.
I think the problem would be that underground pipes are significantly colder than room temperature. Perhaps not cold enough for the oil to solidify, but certainly cold enough for it to thicken, and coat the inside of the pipes. This will build up over time, and catch other solid waste, eventually causing a blockage.
If njtt really has no other option, then I agree that emulsifying the oil first would be the way to go, but I think that should be the last option.
What I’ve done in the past, when I’ve had a large quantity of oil to dispose of, is poured the oil into empty screw-top plastic milk or fruit juice jugs, and put it in the bin.
Can’t you just put it back in its original bottle(s) and put it in your trash? Maybe you could use a few empty water bottles if such can be found in your area. Three liters isn’t a huge amount.
Back when I lived in an apartment, I used old soda bottles in the past for oil disposal- just fill them up, and seal them tightly and out with the garbage they went.
Now that I have a house, I just go dump it in one of the back corners of the yard.
I know it’s ridiculously easy (they do it in freshman expository chem classes at community colleges all the time, and believe me—sometimes we’re talking about people who can barely spell their own names), but how exactly do you make soap? What I’m thinking here is not specifically that njtt actually make soap for his own use, but that if there were some way that he could just mix it with Draino and POOF, it instantly solidifies, it would be much easier to handle and package for disposal.
My neighbor runs his truck on cooking oil. He makes regular rounds to restaurants and collects about 50 gallons on every trip, maybe three times a week.
I was thinking that if there is a restaurant nearby they may take it from you. People go around and collect the stuff from restaurants so for many of them disposal is not a problem these days. They may even lend you a container to put it in.
Very bad. In the waste water industry this is called FOG - Fat, Oil, and Grease. Do a Google image search on this to see what it looks like in your drain pipes.
Collect the oil in disposable containers and toss it in the trash.
Restaurants usually have an underground tank outside the building called a grease trap that they have to have serviced periodically. Even so, most will collect the waste oil separately to reduce the amount of problems with drain clogs, the grease trap usually catches what is left from dish washing operations.
For the volume of oil you are talking about, yes, put it in some type of jug or bottle, and dispose with the trash. Please.
For smaller amounts, you can emulsify the oil with baking soda. Sure, you COULD use lye, but why risk the extreme danger of caustic burns? Sprinkle baking soda and stir. Keep adding baking soda until you’ve got a paste. That paste is essentially soap.
This is also a wonderful way to get rid of the greasy feeling on some cookware and plastics. It won’t work for the baked on grease that is sticky, but any puddle can be mixed with baking soda, and then you can scrub away.
For true soap making, you need lye (NOT Drano!) and everything must be measured, with proper safety precautions observed.
~VOW
OK, just for shits and giggles I took 48 ounces of canola oil, mixed in 1 cup of Target store brand liquid drain cleaner, and stirred it until it was mixed. I wore safety glasses and gloves just in case, but there was no exothermic brouhaha to be observed. The oil just turned cloudy and got a little thicker. So I sealed the container and stuck it in the closet. I’m going to go back and check up on it in a couple of days. What’s likely to happen? Will I still have slightly thickened cooking oil, or three and a half pints of solid soap?