In just the United States, hotels and restaurants alone waste more than 3 billion gallons of cooking oil per year. In most cases, this waste oil builds up significantly in landfills. In even worse cases, it goes down the drain to clog and grease sewer pipes which cause blockages that need to be removed. Additionally, oil is one of the biggest environmental pollutants across the world with many severe linked consequences. In fact, just one liter of oil can pollute a million liters of water. Oil spills can make drinking water unusable and is incredibly expensive to correct. Apart from the severe environmental impacts on plants and wildlife, even oil vapors can cause buildings to be considered inhabitable. With this being such a pressing and available concern, researchers have been studying ways to easily accumulate and recycle large batches of cooking oil. The answer? Schools.
Frying Pan Initiative
In the Republic of Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea, scientists are harnessing the power of schoolchildren to embrace the culture of recycling oil. The aptly named frying pan initiative lets scientists travel to schools with their equipment to host experiments and speak to children about their work. They specifically encourage children to bring used cooking oil from their homes so that they can filter it to be later sold as biodiesel. By providing an easy and available alternative to waste, these researchers are solving the major frustrations with having to recycle cooking oil oneself.
To add even greater incentive, the proceeds from these recycled biodiesels are split once more between the schools who are participating in this program based on their contributions. This money is later allocated for more sustainable, environmentally friendly projects to improve schools like water fountains, gardens, and solar panels. Not only is this initiative a benefit to both schools and the environment––students learn from a young age how to prioritize renewing and recycling waste and practicing sustainability.
The program received incredible support from the government, even becoming incorporated into the national curriculum in 2018 and including over 80,000 children according to Reuters. Chevron, the American oil and gas tycoon, stepped in in 2021 to fully fund the caravan project. This initiative has received recognition from several international organizations and brings hope for inspiring future global offshoots. The frying pan movement, a mostly community-sourced program, highlights the power of social engagement and communal responsibility in caring for our home. As people understand more about human influences on our planet and its future, promising endeavors like these are the ones that raise expectations for a cleaner and greener world with more intelligent and caring occupants.
As Xenia Loizidou, the chair of a local NGO supporting this program states, “we want the children to know waste is not waste. Waste has value, and this is the whole concept of a circular economy.”