Recycling 140 tons of used cooking oil per month in Ecuador is a new goal of a private company initiative

A new warehouse was opened in Durán to double the capacity to collect recycled oil that is exported to Europe to be transformed into biodiesel.

Recycling and economic reactivation come together as objectives to expand the initiative between La Fabril -through its Servei business line- and Arc & Pieper. Since 2019 they have been working to promote better consumption practices and sustainable waste management in hotels, restaurants andcaterings. Now they seek to double the goal of collecting used cooking oil.

Arc opened a storage warehouse in the Durán Industrial Park to cover Guayaquil, Machala, Manabí, Santa Elena, Babahoyo, Riobamba, Azogues, Cuenca, Guaranda, Loja, and surrounding areas. Thus they hope to reach up to 140 tons per month.

It currently collects an average of 70 tons per month with its warehouse in Quito, which covers the northern part of the country. With the new facility in Durán, it is expected to add 72 more tons per month, reaching cities in the southern zone.

70% will correspond to restaurants, hotels andcatering, Servei clients, who would contribute to this goal within a period of two months, indicates this company, which will promote its recycling program for this waste aimed at its clients in those cities and with the support of its environmental manager Arc.

"This commitment of the two companies responds to the objective of raising awareness and educating Horeca establishments towards better consumption practices and sustainable waste management", comments from the La Fabril business line.

The initiative also seeks to help reactivate businesses that were affected by the pandemic, since in exchange for the delivery of liters of used cooking oil, the owner of the establishment obtains financial compensation or a product from La Fabril at no cost. Its product portfolio includes oils and fats, cleaning, personal hygiene and bakery and pastry products.

Servei plans to strengthen its plan for technical advice on good manufacturing practices and environmental sustainability, for its current and potential clients in southern cities.

On the Arc side, the environmental and employability commitment is reaffirmed, in addition to generating more foreign currency income to the country with the export of used oil to Europe to be used as raw material for the production of biodiesel.

The benefits of the circular economy

The initiative also contributes to the circular economy model, with environmental benefits such as avoiding water contamination, saving in the cost of wastewater treatment in municipalities, avoiding clogging of sewers and drainage systems, and reducing the spread of pests. that feed on this waste; and in terms of public health, they make sure that this waste does not end up on the black market where it is misused.

The Horeca channel has 50,000 businesses in the national territory, of which 25,000 are registered with the Ministry of Tourism as food and meal service providers, segmented into large (2.1%), medium (17.9%), small (38.5%) and microenterprises (41.4%). This, according to data provided by La Fabril.

Within the national economy, this sector represents about 2% of the gross domestic product [GDP].