Waste oil conversion prevents smooth ride for biodiesel plans

Waste cooking oil, or 'gutter oil', is commonly used in Hong Kong restaurants and fast food chains. And there is a huge demand for it.

It is often collected from restaurants, reprocessed again into cooking oil and resold on the mainland and in Hong Kong.

'[I estimate] more than 80 per cent of Hong Kong's used cooking oil taken by collectors is sold to the mainland for reprocessing into cooking oil,' said Teddy Choi Wai-hung, executive director of Champway Technology, which operates a biodiesel plant in Tuen Mun's Eco Park.

He claims the export of such oil from Hong Kong is not illegal and there is little visual difference between recycled and fresh oil, so the black market is thriving, as reported in a South China Morning Post article on July 18.

Waste cooking oil costs about HK$4,500 per tonne, but can be resold at prices similar to fresh cooking oil, from HK$10,000 to HK$20,000 per tonne, Choi says.

A TV news report said one in 10 of China's restaurants use gutter oil. Illegally recycled oil may contain dangerous substances, such as aflaxtoxin, which can cause cancer, the China Daily newspaper said.