Cooking Oil

Never put fat, oil or grease down the drain or toilet. It can clog not only your pipes but also the city sewer mains. You should also not add oil to a septic system. It can clog pipes and, even worse, your distribution lines and drainage field.

Effective 2/20/2024, residents can no longer take cooking oil to any Kitsap garbage and recycling facility, including Bainbridge Disposal Transfer Station, nor does the Kitsap County Household Hazardous Waste Facility collect cooking oil.

Check out this Serious Eats article about how to properly and safely reuse fry oil.

Kitsap Solid Waste provides this additional information:

Reason for the change

Regional cooking oil recycling companies will no longer accept cooking oil from residents due to new traceability guidelines. Traceability refers to the ability to track the origin of the oil collected. This change affects public recycling centers across Washington.

Kitsap County Solid Waste and the Washington Department of Ecology are actively researching and working with the cooking oil recycling industry to find solutions.

How to handle household cooking oil

Avoid cooking with large amounts of oil at home. Cook with small amounts, and then use paper towels, napkins, newspaper, flour, baking soda or kitty litter to absorb the oil before disposing in your garbage. You can also search online to find other methods for hardening cooking oil.

Throw away small amounts of oil frequently; don’t save it up into one large container.

For larger quantities of cooking oil (e.g., from a deep-fat fryer), solidify it with a cooking oil solidifier or stearic acid before disposing it in your household garbage. These products are available for purchase online.

Absorbing and solidifying oil is necessary to prevent dangerous oil leaks onto the roadway during trash collection. Liquid oils may be rejected for disposal.

What to avoid

• Do not pour cooking oil, fat or grease down the sink or drains, as it can clog pipes.
• It is illegal to dump oil, fat and grease into the environment, down storm drains or other outdoor drains, or into water bodies. This pollution is harmful to fish and wildlife, and it can lead to penalties and costly cleanups.
• Oils, fat and grease are not accepted in curbside compost bins.

Restaurants and food trucks must recycle or solidify cooking oil

Restaurants, food trucks and other food establishments should subscribe to a FREE commercial cooking oil collection service. Search online to find a list of available service providers. Or use a cooking oil solidifier or stearic acid to harden the oil before throwing it in the trash. These products are available for purchase online.