Used cooking grease and oil now accepted at Ocean County's recycling centers

With the installation of 300-gallon tanks at both Ocean County-operated recycling centers, getting rid of cooking grease and oil is now easier and more environmentally friendly. Area residents looking to dispose of leftover cooking grease and oil may drop off up to five gallons per household per day at both of the county’s recycling centers. The Southern Recycling Center is located at 379 Haywood Rd. in Manahawkin; the Northern Recycling Center is located at 601 New Hampshire Ave. in Lakewood. There is no fee to drop off the waste.

Photo via Google
Used cooking grease and oil should not be
poured down the drain.

“So many of our residents and visitors already access the drop-off bins at the county’s recycling centers. It’s an easy step to include cooking grease when dropping off newspapers and cans for recycling,” Freeholder James F. Lacey, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Department of Solid Waste Management, said in a press release.

Acceptable oils include cooking-pan grease left over from bacon, roasts, fish and chicken along with cooking oil from household deep fryers and turkey fryers.

“When cooking grease is thrown down the drain, it solidifies and builds up in local sewerage and septic systems. This is a great program that allows our citizens and visitors to dispose of cooking grease properly,” said Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari.

The collected cooking oils are sold to MOPAC Rendering of Souderton, Pa., at a price between $1.30 and $1.40 per gallon. That price may fluctuate depending on market conditions. The company in turn recycles the waste oils into bio-fuels and animal feed, Lacey explained.

While motor oil is not accepted as part of this new program, additional containers for automotive waste remain available at both recycling centers.

“We’re all familiar with curbside recycling for newspapers, paper, cardboard, cans and bottles, but a whole range of other products are accepted at our regional recycling facilities,” Lacey said.

Cell phones, boat shrink wrap, computers, televisions and other electronics as well as paint cans, tires and rigid plastics such as lawn furniture, toys and buckets are also accepted at both recycling centers.

For more information, visit co.ocean.nj.us.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.