Residential Waste Cooking Oil Curbside Recycling
Overview
The Town’s full-time Residential Waste Cooking Oil Disposal Program launched July 1, 2009 and
is designed to give Cary residents an opportunity to properly dispose of cooking oil and grease by requesting a special collection. The used cooking oil and grease will be picked up at the curb and recycled into an environmentally beneficial bio-fuel.
Details
To participate in the program, citizens must call Public Works and Utilities Customer Service at (919) 469-4090 to schedule a free curbside pick up. A minimum of a half-gallon of waste oils and grease is required prior to collection. (A half-gallon of grease/oil is approximately one, 2-liter soda bottle).
- Place waste cooking oil and grease in a sealable food container such as the original oil container or a soda/juice/milk bottle. Plastic or metal sealable screw top containers only.
- Label the container with "Waste Cooking Oil" and secure the cap/lid to prevent spillage.
- Place the container at the curb by 7 a.m. on the day of scheduled pick up.
Oil and grease that is left at the curb on your regular collection day without scheduling a pick up will be tagged with a notice to call PWUT.
Items Accepted
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Cooking Oils - vegetable, corn, peanut, sunflower, canola, olive, soybean, flaxseed, or any combination of edible cooking oils
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Margarines
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Animal Fats/Greases – tallow, lard, butter, shorting, or any combination of animal fats
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Oils and fats can be mixed in a single container
Items Not Accepted
Water, food sauces, gravies, large amounts of food particles, plastic, paper, motor oil, fuels, chemicals, and detergents should not be mixed with the waste cooking oils.
Benefits
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Recycling cooking oils and grease helps to reduce blockages in the sewer system. In 2007, there were 6 sewer overflows in the Town and nine overflows in 2008, with oil and grease contributing to the blockage.
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By recycling cooking oils and grease, citizens can also help reduce landfill disposal.
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Bio-fuel will be produced from the collected cooking oil and will be used locally as an alternative to petroleum fuels. Bio-diesel is a cleaner burning fuel that can help with air quality.
The Town uses B-20 bio-diesel blend (20 percent bio-fuel and 80 percent diesel) in fleet diesel vehicles. The Town will utilize bio-fuel generated from the residential waste cooking oil in its fleet vehicles. Triangle Biofuels Inc. of Wilson has been selected for collection and biofuel production of the used residential cooking oils. The Town will receive 25 cents per gallon for used residential cooking oils collected with the program.
Contact
Donald Smith
Utility Pretreatment Manager
Town of Cary Public Works and Utilities Department
(919) 319-4564
(919) 469-4304
