How to Dispose of Chip Oil and Fat

Oil used for frying chips
Chips frying in oil

When you've fried chips twice in one batch of oil it's time to dispose of it. The question though is how to do it safely and with the least damage to the environment and your plumbing system.
The first and absolute rule is always to let the oil cool to about room temperature before disposing of it. To do anything else is just silly. If you leave it cooling in an open pan in the house it will leave more bad odours so our advice is to cover it with a lid.

Another alternative is to let it cool outside but there are always cats, dogs, other wildlife, children and even adults around who may not be aware that the fat is scalding hot. Leaving it outside to cool is therefore not an option we would consider.

When it's cool, consider any advice which may be available to you from your local waste disposal services and follow that advice. But if you are not able to obtain that advice the best bet is to pour the cooled oil into a plastic bottle, seal the lid and dispose of it with the normal rubbish. Small amounts can be put on the compost heap, but large amounts will interfere with the composting process.

One additional point to consider which we have not found mentioned in the popular chip articles, is that when lard or beef dripping cools it goes solid! And that makes it impossible to pour into a plastic bottle. We waited till ours was completely cold, spooned it into some kitchen foil and then disposed of it in the normal manner.

One word of warning, never pour liquid oil or lard / beef-dripping down the sink plughole. Neither will do your plumbing system any good at all and in the case of lard / beef-dripping, it jam the whole thing up solid less than a minute.

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HOW TO DISPOSE OF CHIP OIL SAFELY