The Environmental A-Z…the letter U…Used Oil, UNESCO, Universal Waste…

Welcome to my Environmental A-Z…today it’s the letter U…I have been heartened to hear how many of you feel like I do that we need to take our own steps to avoid pollution wherever we can…I am hoping that COP26(Conference of the Parties) will make the difference we need.

Abraham Lincoln is correct we need to act now to create the future for our families that we want…but at the moment we can only dream of…

The best way to predict your future is to create it...Abraham Lincoln.

 

The A-Z of the environment and Climate Change… letter U…UNESCO, UNFCCC, Used Oil inc Household used Oil and Universal Waste…

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change…

What is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change? The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. Today, it has near-universal membership. The 197 countries that have ratified the Convention are called Parties to the Convention.

For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority.

This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26(Conference of the Parties). With the UK as President, COP26  is taking place in Glasgow…I’m sure I am not the only one who is hoping that the talking will end and radical change to address Climate Change will take place…

In the run-up to COP26, the UK is working with every nation to reach an agreement on how to tackle climate change. World leaders will arrive in Scotland, alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for twelve days of talks.

Not only is it a huge task but it is also not just yet another international summit. Most experts believe COP26 has a unique urgency…

Unesco…

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, Sciences and Culture. UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.

Used Oil…

Or waste oil…used oil as any oil that has been refined from crude oil or any synthetic oil that has been used and as a result of such use is contaminated by physical or chemical impurities. Simply put, used oil is exactly what its name implies—any petroleum-based or synthetic oil that has been used.

During normal use, impurities such as dirt, metal scrapings, water, or chemicals can get mixed in with the oil, so that in time the oil no longer performs well.

Once the oil has been used, it can be collected, recycled, and used over and over again. An estimated 380 million gallons of used oil are recycled each year. Recycled used oil can sometimes be used again for the same job or can take on a completely different task. For example, used motor oil can be re-refined and sold at the store as motor oil or processed for furnace fuel oil. Aluminium rolling oils also can be filtered on-site and used over again.

Household used oil…

This used cooking oil can be processed and repurposed into biofuel, animal feed ingredients, as well as several common household or commercial products such as paints, solvents, cleansers, lotions, plastics, tires and more. As the demand for yellow grease (processed UCO) grows, so does its inherent value.

The global used cooking oil market size was valued at $6,041.2 million in 2018 and is projected to reach $8,886.7 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 5.0% from 2019 to 2026. Used cooking oil is also known as waste vegetable oil.

I am banned from putting any oil down the waste pipe and I am happy to oblige hubby…I do have concerns however about what happens to the used oil …

I am trying to find out if there is a collection point near me…unsuccessfully at the moment, it seems there are randomly scattered collection points around with the aim of making bio-diesel but nothing nationwide…How is your used cooking oil disposed of???

Universal Waste…

Universal wastes are hazardous wastes that are widely produced by households and many
different types of businesses. Universal wastes include televisions, computers and other
electronic devices as well as batteries, fluorescent lamps, mercury thermostats, and other
mercury-containing equipment, among others.

What is not a universal waste?

Batteries. …Some batteries meet the above definition but are not universal waste. These
include spent lead-acid batteries that are being managed under the requirement of 40 CFR part
266 subpart G…batteries that are NOT waste because they have not been discarded and
batteries that are not hazardous waste.
Thank you for joining me today and as always I look forward to your comments…x

34 thoughts on “The Environmental A-Z…the letter U…Used Oil, UNESCO, Universal Waste…”

  1. dgkaye

    Thanks for all this great info Carol. I was fascinated by the oil refining process and reusing many times. I don’t use much oil, a few drops to saute some veg, and I do know that oil is bad to pour down the sink, so I’m not a contributor. 🙂 xx

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I don’t think you are alone in that either Jim I think it should be made clear at point of sale as to safe disposal of goods and it isn’t.. We are now all learning the cause and effect of our actions or non action much of this could have been avoided far sooner….

      Liked by 1 person

      2. CarolCooks2 Post author

        I agree with that Jim however thinking about it…you just knew I would…lol…When do you get the information when you purchase these oils and paints etc it should be clearly displayed how they should be disposed of and where local points of collection are stores and manufacturers are lazy it should not all be down to the consumer they have duty of care for our planet as well…Nuff said for now…lol

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  7. Clive

    I can’t help thinking that, in these technological times, maybe they should have held the conference online and saved the damage to their carbon footprint. And all that hot air they have spouted would have been spread more widely. When the most noise about this has been made by Boris Johnson, who is only ever concerned with doing things he will profit from, I am concerned that there won’t be any positive outcome from COP26. I hope I’m proved wrong.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I hope you are, Clive but I won’t hold my breathe this is the 26th COP meeting it started way before Boris and we are still having these conversations… I have little faith in any politicians whatever their party.. I just hope common sense is the winner here this time x

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Clive

        I think holding our breath might injure our health! They have published a draft agreement but there is opposition from those, like Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, Australia and to some extent the US, who want to continue with damaging fuels. I’m not hopeful that there will be a meaningful agreement which will help us towards what is needed. Fingers crossed!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. CarolCooks2 Post author

        China to my knowledge didn’t even bother to have a representative at COP26, Russia didn’t attend and Saudi has been blocking everything for years ..why? One word “Oil”…Australia should be ashamed of itself and although Biden is in agreement there are doubts he will get much through when back home….The rules need changing as just one member state can scuttle what it likes as all states have to be in agreeance…Absolutely disgusting …

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Clive

        No they didn’t – I omitted them in error from my list! Reliance on oil and coal is why some countries will never take this seriously. Biden has a problem getting anything through, thanks to the GOP’s tactics of blocking everything. We need politicians with vision, but sadly there are far too few of them.

        Liked by 1 person

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  9. Sowmya

    Informative post Carol. I am always looking for some disposable site here to discard my used cooking oil. Unfortunately there aren’t any around my area.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. beetleypete

    We use very little cooking oil, mostly olive oil. When I cook roast potatoes, I use lard, but I cook them on foil, and when the lard has solidified, I dispose of that wrapped in the foil in the bin, not washed down the sink. We have huge issues with ‘fatbergs’ in the UK drainage system, and I don’t want to add to that.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2017/sep/12/vast-fatberg-blocks-london-sewage-system-video
    Best wishes, Pete. x

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Those fat bergs are horrendous I did post on those a few years ago… wherever we live we can only do our best as there doesn’t seem to be many ways of disposing of our oil and fats locally…x

      Liked by 1 person

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