Can I Pour Oil Down the Garbage Disposal?

Oil in Your Pipes

• When you pour oil into your garbage disposal, your sink drain or in your toilet, you risk clogging your drainage system. The oil thickens and can form a clog. It also can find its way into the water supply, which can harm both people and animals.

Cool Your Oil

• After you have finished cooking, allow the oil to cool in your pan. Strain and pour the oil into a resealable, airtight and unbreakable container. Each time you cook with oil, repeat this process until your container is full.

Dispose of Your Oil

• Take your jar or container to your city's garbage collection or your community's residential chemical collection center. Regular cooking oil and specific oils such as peanut oil can be recycled, depending on your collection center's needs and capacity to collect different types of oil. If your oil is in nonbreakable, air-tight containers, place them in residential trash. You can also compost small amounts of oil.

Recycle Your Oil

• Find out what kinds of oil the restaurants in your area recycle. Sometimes restaurant cooperatives collect cooking oil from residents. That oil is recycled into other products, such as biodiesel.