After preparing a meal of fried food you will likely be left with some hot, used cooking oil that you need to safely take care of. There are many options available today for you to choose from for disposing of your used cooking oil, depending on you area and the type of oil you are working with. Here are some insight to help you recycle or dispose of used cooking oils.

Dispose on Your Own

One of the easiest ways to dispose of your oil on your own is to allow it to cool and dispose of it into the trash. Be sure you place the oil into a container with a lid and allow it to cool before tossing it out. Or you can place the hot oil into a container and when it cools, scrape it out into a trash bag and throw it out. It is never a good idea to rinse oils down the sink or flush them into your toilet. Cooking oils will coat the interior of your and the city's sewer lines and cause clogs to form.

You can also dispose of your home's used cooking oil in your backyard. Dig a hole in the ground and pour it into the hole, covering the hole with dirt. Be careful not to pour the dirt into an area you may be composting organic refuse, as oils are not good for and will not promote healthy backyard composting.

Reuse and Recycle

After you have cooked with oil, depending on what foods you cooked in it, you may be able to reuse the oil. When cooking oils collect small particles from the food you cooked in it, the particles can heat up and burn to make the oil have a off-putting taste. And the more you use a cooking oil, its smoking point will become lower, reducing the oil's usability.

If you want to reuse the oil, pour the oil through several layers of cheese cloth or a coffee strainer to remove any particles of food. Collect the now-cleaned oil in a container with a lid, so you can store it in a cool, dark place until you need to use it again. If you leave any particles of food in the oil, they will begin to degrade and cause the oil to become rancid, so it is important to strain all materials from the oil if you plan to reuse it.

You can also recycle oil with a local oil recycling company. There are many throughout the country and many new ones starting up each year. You can check online or talk to your local waste disposal company to find out about any nearby collection points. Some will provide you a collection bin for your oil or pick it up from you, depending on how much you have to recycle. Used cooking oils are routinely recycled and can be used to make products, such as biofuels and animal feed.

Talk to a business like Denver Used Oil for more information.