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The cost of using and disposing of fats, oils and grease varies according to the type and size of your food business. Being aware of the costs can help you decide how you will manage fats, oils and grease.

Costs of using fat, oil and grease

The potential costs of using fat, oil and grease include:

Purchase and disposal

A medium-sized restaurant or takeaway business typically spends £3,000-£4,000 per year on cooking oils. You should collect fats, oils and grease in a suitable container and have them disposed of by a . 

Cleaning materials

For example, washing-up liquid, dishwasher detergent and sanitiser. Generally, a medium-sized hot-food business will spend £1,000 to £3,000 per year on cleaning chemicals.

Fines and prosecutions

Problems due to fat, oil and grease in drains can prevent you from complying with food hygiene rules. This could result in you being prosecuted or receiving a prohibition order that stops you from trading at your premises.

Clearing blockages in pipes and drains

An estimated £15 million is spent on clearing blockages each year in the UK. These tend to be a result of fats, oils and grease. Avoiding these blockages will help you avoid costs and disruption to your business. If Northern Ireland Water finds you have contributed to a sewer blockage, they may seek to recover clearance costs from you. See their guidance on .

Accidents

Staff slipping on or spilling fats, oils and grease can lead to them being off work and possible injury claims against your business. One solution is to buy a heavy-duty hygiene mat, although these cost around £1,000.

Fires

These can have major impacts including the cost of replacing equipment, repairing damaged premises and loss of business while the kitchen is closed. There is even the potential for injury, loss of life and business closure. A fire may also affect neighbouring properties and businesses.

Reducing the amount of fat, oil and grease you use in your business is the most cost-effective way of dealing with it. It is also the best option for the environment. 

How to reduce fat, oil and grease use

One way to reduce the quantities of oils and fats your business uses is to make changes to the menu. Small changes can have a big impact. You might:

• reduce the number of fried items
• pan fry instead of deep frying
• choose to grill, bake, poach or steam food instead of frying or roasting it

Making these changes can help you reduce the oil you use by 40-50% and make cost savings.

Effective use of fats and oil

You should also use fats and oil effectively. You can help prolong the life of fats and oils used in deep frying if you:

• regulate the temperature of fats and oils
• use the minimum amount of oils or fats for safe frying
• keep food as dry as possible
• sieve the frying fat or oil regularly to minimise build-up of food particles
• empty and clean pans regularly (at least once a month)
• replace the proportion of the fats or oils lost each day through use
• take 15 minutes to reach frying temperature to prevent burning in the pan
• reduce the temperature of the oil to 100ºC during quiet periods

Reusing fats and oils safely

You can reuse fats and oils safely with proper controls, particularly where high quantities are used, eg in deep frying. 

Certain techniques can help you significantly reduce the amount of fat and oil you dispose of, effectively allowing you to replace the oil every three days with no disposal costs. You can do this by:

• keeping the level of oil low, so a third is used up each day in cooking
• topping up the oil each day
• controlling the cooking temperature at the correct level
• sieving the oil regularly

There are steps you can take to reduce the cost of cleaning up fat, oil and grease within your food business, such as regularly using cleaning chemicals and frequently servicing ventilation.

How to reduce cleaning costs

You can also reduce your cleaning costs in several of other ways:

• Work out your annual spend on detergents and cleaning chemicals - you might be able to reduce this by switching to different chemicals or by ordering a different size container.
• Record how much cleaning agent you use. Consider whether you actually need to use that much. You may be still able to clean effectively using less. Encourage everyone to use cleaning agent efficiently. If needed, measure out the amount used.
• Reduce cost and packaging waste by buying in bulk. Talk to your supplier about the best size container for your kitchen's requirements.
• Remove any obvious food debris and dirt so cleaning chemicals work more efficiently.
• Wipe oven trays - particularly combi ovens or rotisseries - to remove excess fats, oils and grease before washing up. This will reduce the amount discharged to the drain through the washing-up water.
• Negotiate a cheaper cleaning contract - if your kitchen uses less fat and oil, it will require less cleaning.
• Clean floors at the end of each service to prevent a build-up of grease and food debris and avoid the need for regular, heavy-duty cleaning.

If you handle and store waste fat, oil and grease, you have a legal duty of care to ensure these are disposed of properly.

How to dispose of fat, oil and grease waste

There are specific ways you must handle, store and dispose of waste fat, oil and grease, for health and safety as well as environmental reasons:

• Collect fats, oil and grease waste in air-tight, sealed (leak-proof) containers to prevent odours and to avoid attracting vermin.
• Store containers in a secure area away from all drains to prevent spills and leaks from causing water pollution.
• Your containers should be collected by an for recycling or correct disposal. 
• Don't pour waste fats, oils and grease down drains or sewers. This leads to blockages, odour and vermin problems, as well as polluting local rivers and streams.
• Don't dispose of oil, fat and grease with your other waste. Contractors may refuse to remove it, and there may be odour or pollution problems.
• Don't take used cooking oil to household waste recycling centres. These sites do not usually accept business waste.
• Used cooking oils must not be used in animal feed - there are laws against this.

Avoid using food macerators

Some catering outlets use food macerators to dispose of leftover food scraps. Macerators are designed to chop or grind food into small pieces before washing them into the drainage system. However, you should avoid using these devices to dispose of fat, oil and grease as these combine with bits of food in the drain and become solid, building up in the drainage system and causing blockages.

Waste treatment options

You should also consider how you can treat your waste. Options include:

• using grease traps in your food business
• biological dosing systems for fats, oils and grease
• biofuels and composting - see how to reuse wasted resources in your business

For more information about legal controls on handling, storing and disposing of waste, see duty of care for business waste.

You can fit grease traps to kitchen drainage systems to prevent build-up of grease and fat in drains and sewers. The grease traps are designed to separate out the fats, oils and grease - which remain in the trap - and allow the clarified wastewater to flow out to the sewerage system.

Design of grease traps

The grease trap unit should be the correct size to handle the amount of wastewater from your premises. You should empty out the collected fats, oils and grease regularly and dispose of them correctly. You should keep a written record of maintenance - see how to dispose of fat, oil and grease in your food business.

Use of grease traps

There are three key factors to consider to make sure your grease trap works correctly:

• Temperature - the water discharged from a dishwasher is usually 50-80 degrees Celsius and the average pot wash water temperature is around 40-50 degrees Celsius. At these temperatures, fats and grease stay in solution and may pass straight through the grease trap. 
• Time - you must allow enough time in the grease trap for the grease to cool and separate from kitchen wastewater.  
• Volume - for any grease trap to collect grease efficiently, it needs enough volume to handle the amount of wastewater leaving the business premises. Smaller volumes may pass through the grease trap. 

Maintenance of grease traps

You must maintain your grease trap to ensure it keeps working correctly. A neglected trap will quickly fill with grease. Filled traps can overflow to the drainage system, causing hygiene and health problems. You should keep a written record of maintenance for the grease trap.

You may find it more convenient to buy in services on contract to empty your traps regularly and properly dispose of the contents.

Cost of grease traps

The cost of a grease trap depends on size and fit, and can range from £400 to £500 for a small trap to between £3,000 and £5,000 for a large underground trap.

Running costs will also vary - you will need to maintain an under-sink unit daily, whereas you only need to maintain an underground external unit fortnightly or monthly.

Portable grease traps are available and cost around £700 per year.

Biological dosing systems use bacteria to break down fat, oil and grease and prevent blocked drains and sewers. You might choose this set up if it is impractical to fit a grease trap due to space or hygiene reasons.

How does a biological dosing system work?

The most effective biological dosing systems introduce a large initial dose of bacteria into the drainage system. The bacteria are allowed to establish and colonise, forming a biological film lining the drain.

A dosing unit is installed to release measured quantities of the bacteria, along with nutrients, into the drainage system at regular intervals to maintain the bacterial colonies.

Proper use of a biological dosing system

To ensure your system is working correctly:

• You should get specialist advice to ensure the correct choice of bacterial culture and dosing rate for your kitchen's needs.
• Make sure biological dosing systems are not used for clearing drain blockages. It is important that you remove any blockage before a biological dosing system is installed.
• Ensure you have strict controls on chemicals such as bleach, sanitisers or other chemical cleaners when you use biological dosing systems

Costs of biological dosing systems

A typical dosing system costs around £500 for initial installation and then £40-£60 per month for the dosing. The cost depends on the amount of fats, oils and greases entering the drainage system. Maintenance of the dosing system costs around £50 per year.