Iran Oilseeds and Vegetable Oil Factories Co-operative Co

BENGALURU: What happens to the edible oil in restaurants after it is used for frying? Apparently, it is sold to wedding caterers or street vendors for reuse, if it is still usable. If unusable, the used oil is picked up by vendors who supply it to soap manufacturing industries. A city-based restaurateur sells used edible oil for to a vendor and he does not know what happens next.

Bengaluru generates a huge quantity of oil and grease waste (there is no official data available on the quantity of oil waste generated) but lacks guidelines or a system to dispose of used edible oils. In 2014, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had issued a notification directing all state governments to prevent reuse of used cooking oil and rather use it for the production of biodiesel.

Considering Karnataka was the first state in the country to introduce a biofuel policy way back in 2009 and that there is an increasing demand for biodiesel — an environment-friendly fuel alternative — the state's capital has not exploited this potential.

Eco Green Fuels, a company that produces alternative fuels, began outputting biodiesel in 2014. Although it has increased its production over three years, it has not exploited the capacity fully. Julesh Bantia, its founder, said the reason is because there is no guarantee of the supply of used edible oil. "Currently, we produce one lakh litres of biodiesel every month. There is a potential to increase the production only if the system is streamlined and we are assured of getting a steady supply.” He said.

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