SPAR Austria has teamed up with E&P UCO-Recycling on a project which aims to recycle used household cooking oil that would otherwise end up in drains and sewers every year.
As part of the scheme, customers will receive a voucher of €0.10 per litre of cooking oil that they return to stores, which can be redeemed in-store. The collected cooking oil is then processed into biodiesel.
The initiative will be introduced to 40 Interspar hypermarkets throughout Austria with collection machines for disposal of used cooking oil.
CO2-Neutral Biodesel
Biodiesel made from used cooking oil is CO2-neutral and creates less particulate matter pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum diesel does.
Interspar says the disposal of used cooking oil through drains into the sewer system harms the environment and causes millions of euros of damage that affects everyone.
The retailer hopes that through its collection system, the sustainable disposal of used cooking oil should become a matter of course and save costs.
Return Process
Free, reusable one-litre collection cans are available for customers to collect from Interspar hypermarkets, the retailer said.
After filling these cans with used cooking oil at home, they can be taken to the store to be emptied into the UCO collection machine.
The used cooking oil is then filtered and stored in the vending machine, and customers are presented with their voucher, which can be redeemed at the checkout.
"Sustainability is an integral part of Interspar Austria’s corporate philosophy," said Johannes Holzleitner, managing director of Interspar Austria.
"That’s why I’m all the more pleased that with the used cooking oil collection machines, in close cooperation with UCO, we are offering our customers new ways to reduce their environmental impact."
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest packaging news. Article by Robert McHugh. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
