Cooking fat of your Christmas dishes does not belong down the drain

Finns eat about seven million kilos of ham every Christmas, and cooking ham creates massive amounts of grease waste. Cooking fat is also produced when cooking fish and vegetables. Grease is the most common reason for sewer blockages in households. Fat solidifies in sewers and forms grease blockages. Blocked grease in sewers also causes odor problems and attracts rats. At worst, the grease must be removed from the pipes. 

From grease to renewable energy 

In Oulu, cooking fat is recycled as bio waste throughout the year. During Christmas, a separate collection bin for cooking fat is available at the Rusko Waste Management Centre’s Oiva Station. 

The Gasum Biogas Plant produces biogas out of Oulu’s cooking fat that has been recycled as bio waste. Biogas is an emission-free fuel for cars and fertilizer for agriculture. 

Recycle your ham, fish or vegetable cooking fat as follows: 

• Open and rinse an empty milk carton (ones with plastic caps are also fine) 

• Pour the grease into the carton 

• Close the carton with tape for example 

• Place the carton into bio waste