MAKE MONEY ON USED COOKING OIL AT SPAR!: The Supermarket’s Uncomplicated, Sustainable Cooking Oil Collection

Easily integrate sustainable environmental protection into everyday life: The SPAR grocery store supports the collection of used cooking oil in Burgenland with an innovative system.

Burgenland. Millions of liters of used cooking oil flow from homes into drains and sewers every year. SPAR helps prevent this by providing vending machines for the uncomplicated and sustainable collection of used cooking oil at specific locations in the Güssing and Oberwart regions. Other locations in Burgenland will follow in the coming months.

Innovative system

The Austrian start-up “E&P UCO-Recycling” (UCO = “used cooking oil” in German for used cooking oil) has developed a world-class patented system for collecting used cooking oil from households. SPAR Burgenland provides space to set up collection machines at select locations in southern Burgenland and enables customers to recycle cooking oil used in everyday life when shopping at the supermarket. For every liter of used cooking oil collected, customers receive a 10-cent coupon – plus the assurance they’re protecting the environment.

Convenient collection and recycling

Any sealable container (such as pickle jar, water bottle, etc.) can be used for odorless collection of used cooking oil. Next time you’re shopping at SPAR, just put the used cooking oil you’ve already collected into the UCO collection machine, press the start button, then the used cooking oil will be automatically separated from water and dirt and collected separately in the washing machine. Separation enables the calculation of the pure amount of cooking oil used that is paid directly to consumers. A liter of used cooking oil is worth a 10 cent bonus. The voucher is taken from the machine and redeemed when paying at the cash register.

Waste cooking oil is used to produce biodiesel in Austria

“The whole process takes about half a minute and the collection cannot be disposed of to protect the environment, but reused after being unloaded,” says Christoph Holzer, managing director of SPAR Steiermark und Südburgenland, and adds, “The collected used cooking oil is later used in the production of biodiesel for use in Austria.”

An important contribution to the environment

Unfortunately, a lot of used oil still ends up down the drain, which means a heavy burden on the environment and follow-up costs in the millions. Waste cooking oil is not waste, but a valuable raw material for biodiesel production. One liter of properly disposed used cooking oil corresponds to approximately one liter of biodiesel raw material. Biodiesel produced from used cooking oil is CO2-free, reduces fine dust pollution and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The innovative machine aims to integrate simple disposal into everyday life and support customers with correct disposal.

“For us, environmental protection and sustainability are a matter of integrating into everyone’s daily routine. The way to the supermarket is an integral part of our daily life, so we have developed machines that meet the requirements for food retail installation,” says Daniela Wimmer from E&P UCO-Recycling.

The sites are:
• SPAR, Wiener Strasse 13, A-7400 Oberwart
• SPAR, Bahnhofstrasse 36, A-7471 Rechnitz
• SPAR, Grazer Strasse 17, A-7540 Güssing
• SPAR, Wienerstrasse 6, A-7551 Stegersbach
• INTERSPAR, Business Park 3, A-7502 Unterwart