Residents Urged to Recycle Used Cooking Oil

PORTSMOUTH - Portsmouth residents are urged to take advantage of a City program to recycle used cooking oil and grease, which helps the environment and avoids plumbing problems in homes, businesses and the City’s wastewater treatment system.

Rather than dump cooking oil and grease down the sink or toilet, or pouring it into a non-recyclable container to be placed in the weekly trash collection, residents should consider disposing of it in the designated yellow tank at the City’s Recycling Center behind the Public Works Department at 680 Peverly Hill Road.

When the 1,000-gallon tank is full, Green Bean Bio-Fuel Co. picks up the material free and transports it to the company’s facility in Maine for refining into biofuel heating oil and diesel fuel for commercial vehicles.

Residents are urged to let the oil or grease cool and transport it to the Recycling Center in a clean bottle or container with a watertight lid. Recycling Center personnel will be available to assist residents in pouring the oil and grease into the tank.

“This is an easy step that incorporates sustainable practices in our everyday lives,” said Silke Psula, the City’s solid waste coordinator. “It’s easy to do and it helps everyone. Grease, oil and fats can create significant problems with the City’s wastewater treatment system, not to mention residential and commercial plumbing systems. Recycling used oil is a win-win for everyone.”

The Recycling Center is open 8 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays. The oil and grease recycling program began as a pilot project in 2006. Since then, 1,000 gallons of oil have been recycled.

For information on the City’s sustainability initiatives, including the use of biofuel in its diesel truck fleet, see www.CityofPortsmouth.com/sustainability.