DAVAO CITY—The processing of used cooking oil into biofuel at the Bio Diesel Fuel Plant here has proven to be sustainable since its launching about three months ago, the City Environment and Natural Resources Office said.
“The BDFP has been processing 1,000 liters of used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel on a daily basis,” said Dolly Remojo, supervising environmental management specialist of the Cenro.
The plant, located at the Cenro composting facility in Maa, formally started processing used cooking oil last August.
Its aim is to discourage establishments, such as those in the fast food industry, from reusing or selling their used cooking oil. The indiscriminate disposal of cooking oil has also been identified as a factor in clogged drainage and canal systems in the city.
“We have not really monitored whether or not people have stopped throwing their used cooking oil in the canals, but we have noticed an improvement in some of these canals which used to be polluted with used cooking oil,” Remojo said.
Remojo said only 90 percent of the used cooking oil is converted into biodiesel, while the remaining 10 percent is used for Cenro’s composting. She said the machine is only capable of processing 1,000 liters of used cooking oil per shift.
While it is possible to operate the machine for two shifts daily, Cenro decided to operate on single shift only to avoid straining the machine, she added.
The city government has partnered with 45 establishments and four barangays to collect the used cooking oil. Barangays Mintal, Sasa, and Hizon have continued their contribution to the project.
Cenro uses the processed biodiesel for its garbage trucks and a small backhoe.