How to help the enviromental with cooking oil

Making cooking oil collection more detailed through collection containers’ input where people usually go for other activities like supermarkets. That’s what Coop Lombardia thought setting an event up about using domestic hydro resources to quench everyone thirst, finding out that one of the most harmful cause for water cycle’s purification is cooking oil scattering. So, they started a collection’s method in Pavia’s selling points named: “Oil by the Oil”.

“We developed this project with Pavia district” – explains the venture’s Coop Lombardia mind doct. Valter Molinaro, Innovation and Services Management manager – “From the beginning paying attention to the venture because occupied to rise up its low recycling data. It was a fertile condition to share our common interests, I tried before with Milan District, without answer. Practically I proposed to use the Coop network for recycling. We like thinking to allocate oil when we sell it, but we also help to find a positive solution to pick it up”.

It was a building in progress initiative, so the company had to fix relationships with the recovery network that would physically pick up the oil in the Coop markets. Once we found the solution, the step to introduce clearly visible binders into the supermarkets’ shopping arcades was instant and easy. “People have only to bring inside any plastic bottle with oil inside and put it in the binders”.

Designed positions are appropriately recognized and communicate the collection ways.

The experimental project gets 5 shops involved from 2015 (Pavia and Voghera supermarkets and Vigevano superstore from January 2015, with Milano Bonola e Baggio superstores from September 2015).

OUTCOMES

Reporting data until now are really interesting. In 2015 we saved about 29 CO2 tons (considering 11.285 kg. exhausted vegetal oil recycling, made in 2015, changed into biodiesel). Considering conversion factor, we have 9,93 TEP.

“After almost one and a half year, with interesting data in my hand, I got back on track with Milano’s district” – closes proudly Molinaro – “That finally accepted to start a test. Nowadays we work in three superstores. Only in Milano we picked 10 tons of oil up!”.

Besides environmental data, economic factor has its own influence too, in fact this garbage purification has a significant price for water purification plants’. Pretreatting one wasted oil kilo are necessary at least 3 kWh, considering a 0,15 euro price for an energy kWh, every liter of oil to be purified costs 0,45 euro. Moreover, you can find problems to clean and upkeep encrusted or damaged by oil and grease pipelines and pumping plants, with a 50 euro cents extra cost for every oil kilo.

Potentialities

Progression’s project potentialities are substantial, extending it into Lombardia Coop’s superstores and supermarkets, considering an average collection potentiality alike one exhaust oil ton every 1000 commercial sqms, the company evaluates may reach 146 tons to pick up every year at top speed, equal to 128 TEP.

The project, totally answering to its name – Oil from the Oil – also forecasts that part of the money obtained by the recycling companies, will be transferred, upon Cooperative Lombarda’ request, to mafia’s confiscated lands olive tree groves management.