Used Cooking Oil Recycling in Southern Louisiana

used cooking oil pickup partner shaking hands with ReBirth executive.

The Best Used Cooking Oil Recycling Partner

We want to earn your business in New Orleans by performing every day. We don’t require punitive long term contracts that self renew, instead, we give you a 30 day guarantee cancellation policy. If you need a prompt response, call or text Al Johnson – owner, directly at 985-778-3104 day or night 24/7.

When we recycle your used cooking oil, we keep our hoses, trucks and bins clean. Our container is an extension of your kitchen in your restaurant or food facility so we make sure every container is lightly cleaned each time we pickup your used cooking oil or we replace it with a clean, fresh container. 

Prompt Used Cooking Oil Collection

Our company strives to solve problems before they arise. Every time your restaurant’s used cooking oil is picked up, we evaluate the pickup cycle to make sure our staff is arriving the next time when the container is at 80% full.

If you need special emergency service, we’re here 24/7. Just call the owner, Al. No “customer engagement” centers or foreign phone banks. Your problem will be handled promptly. If you need your used cooking oil picked up right away, we’ll be there.

phone call for restaurant oil removal
used cooking oil pickup in new orleans, Louisiana

Southern Louisiana Coverage

If you’re in Southern Louisiana we can handle your used cooking oil collection and your grease trap cleaning. From Picayune to Patterson to Lake Charles and everywhere in between, we’ve got you covered. Organizations like the Archdiocese of New Orleans and St. Tammany School System trust us to service 100+ school locations spread throughout Southern Louisiana.

Service Driven

Quality service ensures our clients stay for the long run.

Automation Focused

We offer automated systems that save you money.

Licensed

Fully licensed and insured. You can trust Rebirth Biofuels.

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 Why recycle used cooking oil?

The case for recycling used cooking oil is strong and growing. First, not recycling used cooking oil means dumping it somewhere. Plus, it’s required in New Orleans.

Used Cooking Oil Recycling in New Orleans

While New Orleans itself may not have specific regulations on used cooking oil recycling, Louisiana does have a statewide law on oil recycling that covers the key points:

These regulations are designed to protect public health and the environment by preventing used oil from contaminating water and soil.

Where does used cooking oil get dumped?

If you dump used cooking oil in the garbage, it can end up in landfills. Landfills seem like a logical place for waste cooking oil, but used cooking oil in landfills can seep into our water supply contaminating a scarce resource.

Many home cooks dump their oil down a drain or into a sewer grate. But when you dump UCO into a drain it can clog the waste water pipes, causing backups that damage pipes, drainage systems and restaurants. That is because vegetable oil solidifies at lower temperatures around 55 to 57 degrees Fahrenheit.

Workers at this Popeye’s restaurant in Detroit decided to dump used cooking oil in a wastewater grate in the street and ended up backing up wastewater into their restaurant and flooding basements of neighborhood homes.

This is what a pipe clogged by fats, oils and grease looks like.

Undoing damage like this is a huge and expensive undertaking. And when FOGs (fats, oils and grease) build up over time you can end up with fatbergs that require months of repairs and millions of dollars of expense. This fatberg in London is an extreme example. It caused millions of pounds in damages.

And if a restaurant doesn’t recycle its cooking oil and simply washes it down the sink, clogged pipes can severely damage a restaurant and its reputation, not to mention the fines and citations that will come from its local health department or EPA.

That grease can make its way into municipal water systems, which are not designed to process grease. Once grease gets into a municipal water system it can foul waterways, killing animals, birds and waterfowl. UCO can also kill plant life by coating leaves and preventing photosynthesis as mentioned in this Mississippi River Delta study.

Composting in small amounts is deemed harmless by some experts but again, the oil is getting into the water system and can cause damage. Most experts such as those at SF Gate recommend against it because oil can make your compost pile anaerobic instead of aerobic.

Dumping used cooking oil is always a bad idea.

How is UCO produced?

Used cooking oil is produced by cooking food in animal fats or vegetable oils and then depositing the oil into containers or bins. This might mean a thin layer of oil from a frying pan or the many gallons of oil used each day by a busy restaurant that does a lot of frying. Large bins outside of restaurants are storage bins for used cooking oil. They are usually made of metal or HDPE (High density polyethylene.) ReBirth Biofuels uses HDPE containers that look like this. You may have seen them around New Orleans.

used cooking oil storage

How does the used cooking oil get to the recycling bin?

Used cooking oil gets to the recycling bin in a number of different ways. Restaurant staff can carry a large pot of UCO from the kitchen to the bin and dump it over the side into the bin. This can be challenging, prone to spills and injuries and is generally the choice of last resort. Another way to transport oil from the fryers to the bin is with a shortening shuttle, shown below.

It is a very effective low-tech way to drain oil from your fryer and transport it with minimal effort to the recycling bin. This video of a shortening shuttle shows how it works.

Another oil transport method is a caddy, which can be pushed under the fryer for draining and then wheeled to an indoor tank so the oil can be pumped in. If you’re using an indoor tank, there are other methods such as directly connecting the fryers to the indoor tank via pipes or transporting it through the pipes with a suction wand. In an environment with distributed kitchens such as a casino or hotel a grease caddy that can be placed under the fryer and then wheeled to the indoor tank is a great solution. Safety and ease of use is paramount when choosing a method to transport restaurant grease.

Ecotubs

Another solution to moving grease from fryers is to pour it into an eco-tub. The eco-tub comes in several sizes all of which are easily stored under kitchen counters or sinks. They can be wheeled to a location where your grease recycling company can pump directly from the eco tub to their pumper truck. Sizes range from 42 to 78 gallons.

How many times can I reuse cooking oil?

This question is important to the financial success of many restaurants, but the answer is complex and dependent on a number of factors. The factors that determine how many times you can reuse your cooking oil include:

Cooking meat will cause your cooking oil to deteriorate faster than if you are cooking french fries. The problem in frying meats is that iron is transferred from meat to the cooking oil. The transfer of iron from the food into the oil can decrease the stability of the oil during frying, accelerating thermoxidation. Thermo oxidation changes the chemical properties of the oil reducing its quality. Filtering of cooking oil (to remove meat particles containing iron) that has been used to cook meat is imperative.

 A top quality oil with a high smoke point will last longer than a cheaper oil with a low smoke point.

Cooking at too high a temperature will also cause oil to break down more rapidly. At too high a temperature oil breaks into fatty acid components and toxic substances. A good frying temperature is 350 to 375 deg F.

Filtering oil (physical removal of burned foodstuffs via filter paper or screen) can prevent repeated burning and carbonization and more rapid deterioration of the oil. Polishing is the addition of a chemical substance to bind to food remnants to remove them for the oil. This chemical binding process helps to remove particles that physical filtration through a filter can not.

Filters can come in your fryers or even in your caddy.

Following best practices in the kitchen can increase the life of your oil. Best practices include:

In sum, the life of your cooking is highly dependent on the factors mentioned above and the care you take with your oil from frying temperature to foods to oil type to best kitchen practices.

How to know when to change your cooking oil?

First, if the oil looks dark or smells rancid it is time to change it. Is the oil smoking at normal temperature or has the food taste declined? Is there more foaming in the oil than when the oil was new? These are all indicators that it might be time to change your cooking oil. Overusing your oil can make your foods soggy instead of crispy and add rancid flavors. 

The best way to decide if you should change your oil is to test it. There are several test methods available.  FFA (free fatty acid test strips) are paper strips that you submerge in oil and check the color against a benchmark of colors indicating FFA concentrations. An FFA test kit is here. These are inexpensive but less accurate than the TPM method below.

A TPM (total polar molecule) is a digital test to measure the non-triglycerides in the oil which is a measure of fat breakdown. The downside is that they are expensive and need monthly calibration. A Testo 270 can be seen here.

Considering the cost of cooking oil the small investment in an oil testing kit can pay for itself many times over.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know Rebirth will be reliable and pick up my restaurant’s oil when I need them to?

We schedule used cooking oil pickups so you know when to expect us. An off schedule pickup or trap issue? You have the CEO’s cell phone number.

Do you provide indoor UCO systems?

We provide cutting edge cooking oil management systems and they cost less than you’d think. You can prevent injuries and accidents and save on workman’s comp and insurance premiums. If you produce enough oil it makes perfect sense.

Do you clean grease traps?

We do! You only have to make one call–to us! We are licensed grease trap cleaners in Louisiana.

Ready to get started?

Give us a call or fill out a form to learn more or get your restaurant oil removal service started as soon as you need it!

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