Sharjah launches UAE’s first used cooking oil recycling programme for communities

Bee’ah Tandeef has launched a used cooking oil recycling service to reduce the negative impact of typical disposal methods while contributing to a zero-waste future.

In homes, used cooking oil is usually poured down the drain. It stresses plumbing systems, creates clogs, and ultimately leads to expensive, time-consuming maintenance work for municipalities and sewage treatment companies. Or, used cooking oil is disposed of in landfills, generating greenhouse gases. With the new service, Bee’ah Tandeef is working to counter these challenges while realising value from waste cooking oil and accelerating efforts towards a circular economy.

Speaking about the initiative, Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah, said, "We recognised that the typical way to dispose of used cooking oil has detrimental effects on the environment, burdens public infrastructure, creates inconvenience for people in their homes and poses a risk to a good quality of life. At the same time, used cooking oil offers the opportunity to sustainably create products such as biodiesel. By launching the used cooking oil recycling service, Bee’ah Tandeef is turning these challenges into an opportunity to realise a zero-waste future."

Once collected, Bee’ah Tandeef will turn the waste cooking oil into biodiesel. In turn, the company will use biodiesel to fuel its fleet of waste collection trucks, closing the loop to create a circular economy while greening its operations.

Bee’ah Tandeef plans to have several used oil collection machines, where community members can deposit used cooking oil in specific bottles provided by the company. Community members can call 800 TANDEEF (826333) to receive their first used cooking oil collection bottle. The collection machine also dispenses a new empty bottle whenever a bottle is deposited. This makes it easy for people to continue collecting used cooking oil at home soon after they make a deposit at the collection machine.

Rafael Sanjurjo Lopez, CEO of Tandeef, highlighted the fact that the used cooking oil recycling service is one of the many services provided, aligning directly with the company’s efforts towards a zero-waste future.

The first used cooking oil collection machine has been installed near the Sharjah National Park parking lot. The machine will also dispense an empty bottle for users to take home with every deposit. Each bottle can hold up to one litre of used cooking oil. The bottles also have a life cycle of five years and are entirely recyclable.

Tandeef plans to roll out collection machines in more communities in Sharjah and across the country. All the devices will be operational 24x7x365 days.

WAM