Planning an event with food vendors, from a small fair to a large festival, means planning for the safe and responsible disposal of Used Cooking Oil (UCO). Improper disposal, like dumping oil down drains or on the ground, is illegal, environmentally harmful, and can result in significant fines.
To help you manage UCO effectively and ensure compliance, we’ve broken down the process into a simple, three-part checklist based on the best practices for handling UCO.
Part 1: Planning & Vendor Coordination
Proper preparation is the foundation for a smooth recycling operation. This phase is all about estimating your needs, setting up the infrastructure, and communicating clear rules to your vendors.
- Determine UCO Volume Needs: Survey all your food vendors to find out the number, size, and type of fryers they will be using. Use these estimates to calculate the potential total UCO volume.
- Small Domestic: ≈3.2 quarts to 4 gallons per unit
- Standard Commercial: ≈6 gallons per unit
- Large Commercial/Catering: 7 to 17+ gallons per unit
- Turkey Fryers (Estimate): 9lb turkey ≈3−4 gallons; 14lb turkey ≈5 gallons
- Calculate Barrel Requirements: Divide the estimated total UCO volume (in gallons) by the capacity of your recycling barrel (if using a standard C4 Oil recycling barrel, the capacity is 100 gallons) to determine the number of barrels needed for the event.
- Designate a “Grease Station”: Mark a secure, fenced-off, and easy-to-access area for barrel placement. This area must be on level ground and away from both customer traffic and storm drains.
- Communicate Disposal Rules: Include mandatory UCO disposal procedures in all vendor agreements and vendor orientation materials. Emphasize that dumping oil into drains or on the ground is strictly prohibited and subject to fines/penalties.
- Arrange for Pickup/Removal: Coordinate with the recycling company for the removal of the full barrels. Confirm the exact time and location for this service, ideally for the day after the event once the oil has completely cooled.
Part 2: On-Site Operations & Safety
This checklist focuses on the active management and safety procedures during the event.
- Distribute Temporary Containers: Ensure vendors have safe, non-plastic, heat-proof containers (like metal oil caddies or sealed buckets) to empty oil from fryers and allow it to cool. Do not pour hot oil directly into the C4 barrel as this could damage the barrel.
- Implement Cooling Protocol: Instruct all cooking staff that oil must be emptied by them from the fryer and cooled to under 150°F before it can be transferred to the central C4 barrel.
- Transfer Cooled Oil to Barrel: Ensure all cooking staff use a wide-mouth funnel and follow the strict cooling rule before pouring oil into the C4 recycling barrel. Provide a staff member to monitor this process for large-volume transfers. Make sure light is shining into the inside of the barrel so that the oil does not overflow.
- Secure the Barrel Overnight: After the event closes, lock the lid on the C4 barrel and ensure it remains in the secure, designated area for final cooling (as oil must be cool for safe removal).
- Spill Kit Preparedness: Place a UCO spill kit (including absorbent material like kitty litter or sawdust, and a degreaser) next to the grease station to immediately manage any accidental spills during the transfer process. (Have on site brooms and dustpans to sweep up any absorbent material. Also keep on hand a floor scrubber, dish soap, and a bucket with water to scrub up any oil spills onto concrete or ceramic tile material.)
Part 3: Best Practices & Regulatory Compliance
These steps ensure a clean, effective recycling process and help you comply with local regulations.
- No Contamination Rule: Instruct vendors not to mix the used cooking oil with any other liquid, such as water, solvents, antifreeze, or brake fluid, as this can contaminate the entire barrel and result in hazardous waste disposal fees.
- Filter/Strain the Oil: Encourage vendors to strain the oil to remove large food particles before pouring it into the cooling container. This prevents solids from settling in the barrel, which can cause odors and complicate recycling.
- Consider Secondary Containment: Place the C4 barrel on top of a secondary containment tray or pallet (a short, lipped tray) to catch any potential leaks or spills during the event.
- Check Local FOG Regulations: Verify if your local municipality has specific Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) regulations for temporary commercial food service operations. Compliance may be required to secure future event permits.
Following this checklist will not only keep your event running safely and smoothly but also demonstrate your commitment to environmental responsibility.
In the Event of Oil Spills
Should you experience any large oil spill from the temporary containers, fryers, or C4 container barrel, the protocol involves immediate containment, cleanup, and then remediation of the affected surface. For any large spill, or one that has the potential to reach waterways or groundwater, immediately contact your local environmental protection agency or emergency response line, as regulations require reporting, and professional cleanup may be necessary.
For oil spilled on hard surfaces, use absorbent material to suck up the grease. Great options for this include clay-based cat litter (non-clumping), oil-specific granular absorbents like Floor Dry or Oil-Dri, sawdust, and sand. Create any kind of barrier around the spill using absorbent booms, sand bags, or socks from a spill kit, mounds of sand or dirt (although this may contaminate the soil—do not put oil contaminated soil back into the ground). Containing the spill prevents the oil from spreading and entering storm drains and waterways where it can cause backlogs and toxicity.
It usually takes several hours to a full day for the absorbent material to suck up the spilled oil. Once this process is complete, remove the contaminated material with a push broom or shovel. Scrape any heavily soaked grass or surface soil up and remove that to the waste container as well.
Do not rinse the area with water, particularly if the area is grass or dirt. Water repels oil and will merely push it deeper into the soil. While dish soap can cut the Dispose of all contaminated materials including absorbents, soiled grass, rags, etc. into heavy duty plastic bags or sealed containers. This waste must be disposed of as hazardous or special waste—NOT IN YOUR REGULAR TRASH.
If the spill occurs on grass and the grass is heavily soaked, it will likely die and the oil will have penetrated the topsoil. For a small spill, physically remove the contaminated grass and soil by digging up the affected area to a depth of 4-6 inches and dispose of the contaminated soil. Fill the hole with fresh, clean topsoil and reseed or a new layer of sod.
Smaller, less severe oil stains are not an issue since microbes will break down the soil, but microbial products which release oxygen and boost aeration and break down oil contamination can speed the process.
If your food festival needs oil recycling, PopUP CleanUP can help!
