KOTA KINABALU (Aug 3): Used cooking oil (UCO) can now be sold to generate household income and produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with the launching of the ‘From Fryer 2 Flyer: Used Cooking Oil Awareness Programme’ on Saturday.

The programme will also support the recycling agenda and reduce the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the country’s commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2025.

In this regard, Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB) has made several Petronas gas stations as UCO collection centres, to make it easier for people to send and sell their used cooking oil for RM2.50 per kilogram.

The nationwide initiative, which had started with only three Petronas gas stations around Klang Valley, has since expanded to 54 stations throughout the nation.

With this expansion, the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK) is targeting 500,000 kilogrammes of UCO to be collected and the participation of more than 100,000 people by end of this year.

In Sabah, three Petronas gas stations have been made as UCO collection centres, namely along Jalan Lintas in Kota Kinabalu, Batu 8 Labuk By-Pass in Sandakan and Jalan Utara in Tawau.

KPK Deputy Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin, who officiated the State-level programme in collaboration with the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) at the Petronas gas station along Jalan Lintas here on Saturday, said it will be expanded to other stations throughout the state.

Chan said his ministry protects the interests of the palm oil industry and small farmers through efforts to increase palm-oil based downstream products, in addition to supporting economic generation through a circular economy from palm oil biomass.

He said apart from raising awareness on economic and environmental benefits, organising such programmes will indirectly increase public awareness on the importance and direction of the palm oil and biofuel industries in Malaysia.

The deputy minister also suggested for a by-law to be enacted to obligate small traders and food hawkers around Kota Kinabalu to regularly manage their UCO by selling them to Petronas gas stations or UCO collection companies.

“Based on statistics from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), the amount of UCO collected in the state of Sabah is still low, which is only approximately 2,700 tonnes from January until June 2024.

“Overall, this amount does not even reach 1.5 percent of the total collection of UCO throughout Malaysia, which is around 200,000 tonnes in the same period.

“In addition, based on the MPOB survey, as much as 77 percent of the population do not recycle and throw away used cooking oil in the trash or less suitable ways.

“Through the organisation of today’s and future campaigns in Sabah, I hope that more Sabahans are aware of the importance of managing used cooking oil in the correct way.

“An increase in awareness among the general public will not only provide economic benefits to the people of this state, but also to the environment,” he said.

PDB General Manager, Strategy and Sustainability, Harlina Pikri said UCO is often thrown away, polluting the environment and clogging waterways.

Instead, she said these used cooking oil actually has great potential to be converted into biofuel, as through innovation and technology, the UCO collected from the nationwide initiative can be processed into cleaner fuel for airplanes or Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Hence, she said the initiative will be an important milestone in reducing the aviation industry’s carbon footprint and bringing everyone one step closer to a more sustainable future.

“Since this initiative was launched last year, we have received a positive response from the community. To date, customers have received more than RM1 million in cashback! This not only eases their burden to some extent, but also shows the positive impact on the environment that we can achieve when all parties work together.

“Our goal is more stations so that more UCO can be collected, and more positive impact on the environment. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!

“We hope that with the expansion of this program, the culture of recycling used cooking oil will become easier and more beneficial, and we hope that we can continue to cooperate and achieve the goal of sustainable development,” she said.

Harlina added that Petronas is planning for the construction of an SAF refinery in Pengerang, Johor.
Also present was Kota Kinabalu Mayor Dato’ Sri Dr Sabin Samitah.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2024/08/03/used-cooking-oil-generates-income/

Sumber : The Borneo Post