OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Gallons of Turkey Day cooking oil that could have ended up clogging up our drains and ultimately hurting the environment was collected Monday by the City of Ocala.
Ocala’s Water Resources Department hosted a cooking oil recycling day at the Ocala Wetland Recharge Park located at 2105 NW 21st St.
The recycling was set up to allow residents to safely dispose of cooking oil now that the holiday is behind us and the guests have headed home.
Gabriela Sullivan the Water Conservation Coordinator for the City of Ocala said, “It’s important that people not put fats, oil and grease, what we call “FOG” down the drain because “FOG” can collect on the inside of your pipes and over time it can prevent water from going down the drain. It can also build up in our sewer systems and cause overflows that can be bad for the environment. This is just one way you can help us protect your pipes and our pipes.”
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She also suggests that when you’re doing everyday cooking to collect grease from your regular-sized meals in a small container. She says just pop it in the freezer and then toss it in the trash instead of down the drain.
One person dropping off oil on Monday said, “It’s better than pouring it down the drain or on the ground because it will mess up the environment. I put the date in my phone so I wouldn’t forget it and I remembered to bring it.”
By the end of the collection, Sullivan said they collected 68 gallons of oil. That’s a big increase over last year’s collection which yielded 20 gallons.
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