Do you or anyone you know use a deep fryer to cook your turkey on Thanksgiving? For me, the whole thing seems really dangerous, because every year I hear stories about people burning down their houses with a turkey fryer. How about the nutrition factor? Well, anything fried is usually a bad idea, but LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames says that fried turkey “is not as unhealthy as it might sound,” as long as you’re not eating the skin.
So if you’re going to use a turkey fryer, what do you do with all the waste oil after you’re done cooking? Many companies are accepting donations of waste cooking oil to use to make biodiesel or other renewable fuels. Some companies are even paying you to drop off your oil! Cool, huh?
To find a drop-off in your city, your best bet is probably a Google search. Here’s a few I found on my own:
- Tulsa, OK - Hebert’s Specialty Meats, 2101 E. 71st St., 11am - 5pm, Friday & Saturday, will pay up to $1.00/gallon
- Colorado - Rocky Mountain Sustainable Enterprises’ Holiday recycOil, Saturday, 10am - 4pm, in Arvada, Aurora, Aspen/Pitkin County, Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, Lafayette, Longmont, Loveland, Littleton, Louisville, and Thornton (exact locations on website)
- Tucson, AZ - Grecycle, Friday, 9am - 1pm (map to locations on website)
- San Diego, CA - City Grease Disposal Program, Miramar Landfill, 5165 Convoy Street, M-F 7am - 4:30pm, Sat-Sun 7:30am - 4:30pm
You can also try out the Earth911 website. Type in “cooking oil” and your city on their main page to get a listing of drop-off locations.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and please recycle the oil if you use a fryer! If you know another family that’s frying up oil, offer to pick it up and drop off for them! Your holiday good deed will be done before the Christmas season even starts!