Recycle Leftover Cooking Oil, Grease from Your Kitchen

Here's a press release from the Environmental Services Department of the City of El Paso:

Recycle Leftover Cooking Oil, Grease from Your Kitchen

Thinking of frying a turkey for the holidays? Not sure what to do with the leftover used cooking oil and grease?

Citizens can now take used frying and cooking oils to a City of El Paso Citizen Collection Stations. The City of El Paso Environmental Services Department has partnered with Global Alternative Fuel, LLC, to provide residents with a way to recycle used cooking and frying oils.

Residents should never wash cooking fats, oil or grease down the drain, as they can cause the sewer line to back up into your home or in the storm drains, which flow to our wastewater treatment plants.

The goal of the partnership is to convert the spent cooking oil and grease into biodiesel. The service is being offered as a pilot project. The service is free and available solely to residents, who pay a solid waste disposal fee to the City of El Paso. Used cooking oils from businesses, including restaurants, will not be accepted.

Residents can dispose of up to 15 gallons of used cooking oil per person, per visit to a Citizen Collection Site.

The sites also accept many household hazardous wastes, such as old paint, pesticides, and fluorescent lamps. For a list of household hazardous waste accepted at the sites visit http://www.ci.el-paso.tx.us/environmental_services/citizen_collection.asp or call 621-6700.
Citizen Collection Stations are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. They are located at:

· NORTHEAST: 4501 HONDO PASS
· CENTRAL: 2492 HARRISON
· WESTSIDE: 121 ATLANTIC
· SOUTHSIDE: 4200 DELTA
· EASTSIDE: 9000 ESCOBAR

The sites will be closed on Thanksgiving Day but they will resume operations on Friday.