Keep Those Pipes Clean this Holiday Season

Holidays are a perfect time to bust out the china and cook a meal fit for royalty. Don’t be afraid to embrace your culinary spirit.

Responsible cleanup of that festive meal, along with kitchen composting, is as important as the dessert. Keep in mind that a deep-fried holiday turkey can generate up to five gallons of oil before the turkey is done. That is a lot of leftover cooking oil, so what’s next?

Your first thought might be to dump the remaining oil down the drain, since after all, it’s a liquid. Resist the temptation, as not all liquids are created equal. When dumped down the drain, cooking oil (especially cooking grease) can clog up your pipes, back up sewer systems and create havoc at the sewer treatment plant where it will end up.

In addition to the damage you can do in your kitchen, dumping it down a storm drain would be even worse. That sends it straight into our lakes, rivers, streams and to the ocean as an unwelcome pollutant affecting animal life.

The Art of Disposal

Depending on how much oil you have used, disposal methods vary.

• A small amount of cooking oil can first be absorbed by adding kitty litter, or some other solid absorbent material, like shredded paper.
• For larger amounts, store in a container till cooled and reuse. Or, you can seal it and throw it away in the trash.
• Hot grease can be poured into a metal or plastic coffee can to solidify and then thrown out.

The Art of Reuse

Before tossing that oil out with the rest of your house garbage, consider it for reuse. Simply sift or screen out the solids and use it for cooking another day. Be sure to save the container the oil came in to properly and easily store it.

Though some people worry about reusing oil, making sure you don’t overheat the oil will make all the difference on its lifespan. According to GoAskAlice.com:

The optimal temperature to fry foods at is 375°F (190°C). Different oils have different smoke points. Oils with higher smoke points are better for frying. Smoke point temperature for common oils are:

• Canola oil – 460°F (238°C)
• Corn oil – 457°F (236°C)
• Lard – 361-394°F (183 – 201°C): This varies depending on the diet of the animal and the part of fat that is derived
• Olive oil – 375°F (190°C)
• Peanut oil – 448°F (231°C)
• Safflower oil – 509°F (265°C)
• Sesame oil – 419°F (215°C)
• Soybean oil – 466°F (241°C)
• Sunflower oil – 475°F (246°C)

Each time the oil is reused, the smoke point becomes lowered. This is due to:

• Foreign matter in the oil
• Salt
• Temperature
• Exposure to oxygen and light
• The number of times the oil was used

Keep Your Engine Running

Of course, the best practice for disposing your cooking oil is to recycle it. As you may have heard, cooking oil can be used to produce energy, such as bio-diesel. This product can, in turn, be used to fuel just about any diesel-powered vehicle.

Since producing your own bio-diesel at home is a complex process, finding a recycling location in your area may be the safer way to go. Earth911’s recycling locator can help you find your closest recycling drop-off.

You might even check with the owners of your favorite restaurant to see if they would take the oil off your hands.