Waste Vegetable and Rapeseed Cooking Oils (WVO) Disposal Laws and Regulations

Since 31 October 2004 waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil from catering premises can no longer be used as an ingredient in animal feed.

waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oils (WVO) from food manufacturing and fresh or unused cooking oil, can continue to be used in animal feed.

This change has been introduced as a measure to safeguard animal health and the subsequent food chain under the Animal By-Products Regulation EC 1774/2002 (ABPR) and applies across Europe, including the UK. In most member states the ban has applied since May 2002.

After 31 October 2004, anyone using waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil from catering premises as an animal-feed, as an ingredient in animal-feed, or who consigns their waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil to such animal feed operation commits an offence.

It is anticipating that the majority of catering premises will be able to continue to have their waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil taken away by their usual collectors, However, the collector will now be expected to supply the waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil to either the biodiesel producers as a raw material for transport fuel, to incinerators who will be able to use it in the generation of electricity, or for other uses such as in the olechemical industry.

The Government strongly supports the recovery of waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil for such purposes as it underpins its strategies in both reducing dependency upon landfill sites as a means of waste disposal and reducing the use of fossil fuels for energy generation.

If you produce waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil as part of your catering business, (for example as a chip shop or other takeaway outlet or restaurant), then you must ensure that it is stored properly, that non is allowed to spill and that it is collected by an authorised collector who will take your waste to an authorised site for recovery or disposal.

waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil must not be poured down the drains or sewers because of this inevitably leads to blockages and odour or vermin problems and may also pollute watercourses leading to problems for wildlife. Such action could also result in potential prosecution. Nor should waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil be disposed of with the rest of the catering or kitchen waste because it may cause spillages leading to odour or pollution problems or waste contractors may refuse to remove it.

An illegal dumping of waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oils (WVO) can lead to fines from five hundred to two thousand pounds if not more.

Technology is now available to track and trace sources of illegal dumping of waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oils (WVO).

waste vegetable and rapeseed cooking oil should not be taken to household recycling centres (also known aas Civil Amenity sites CA sites are not for commercial waste and placing cooking oil into an oil bank will render the entire contents of the drums unsuitable for recycling.