Keenan Recycling, Scotland’s largest dedicated food waste management firm, has launched a free oil collection service that will help takeaways and other big kitchens to save money and reduce waste.
As well as takeaways and restaurants, the service is also available to large catering organisations, such as care homes, hospitals, universities and office canteens.
Keenan Recycling, which is headquartered at New Deer in Aberdeenshire and has offices in Linlithgow that service clients throughout Scotland, has teamed up with Arrow Oils to launch the initiative.
Arrow will collect leftover oil from kitchens and ensure it is filtered and cleaned, ready to be utilised as an environmentally friendly fuel. Customers can also buy their fresh oil from Arrow, as well as taking advantage of its batter collection and delivery service.
Grant Keenan, managing director at Keenan Recycling, said: “New rules were introduced on January 1 that mean every business in Scotland that’s producing more than 5kg of food waste needs to separate out those leftover scraps and recycle them instead of dumping them into landfill.
“If they don’t recycle their food waste then kitchens face big fines from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.
“By teaming up with Arrow Oils, we’re giving our customers the chance to have their food waste and leftover oil collected under the same contract, making it simpler and easier for them.
“It’s not just chippies either – restaurants, care homes, hospitals and staff canteens can benefit from this new scheme too.”
The average British chip shop produces around 50-100 litres of oil waste each week,
along with about 1,000-1,500 litres of batter waste.
Calum Richardson, owner of award-winning The Bay Fish & Chips in Stonehaven, which is already using the free oil collection service, said: “When I first approached Keenan Recycling about my food waste, I was sceptical because, as a takeaway, I didn’t think I had any.
“What I soon realised opened my eyes. There was a huge amount – everything from batter scraps to tattie peelings – that was going in general waste.
“I’ve reduced my general waste by 75 per cent and now have a much more economical attitude towards waste in general.
“Keenan Recycling has always been approachable, easy to contact and really looks after us as a customer. It's particularly helpful to see how much our bins weigh to give us an idea of how much is being discarded and where we could reduce waste.”
Keenan Recycling launched its commercial food waste collection service in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire in 2010 and now processes more than 60,000 tonnes of waste each year.
The family-run business opened a base at Linlithgow in April 2015 and has now invested £1million in its Central Belt expansion, which has included a fleet of six lorries to roll out its services to customers in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
BGF (Business Growth Fund) – the £2.5bn growth capital provider launched by five of the UK’s main banking groups in 2011 – invested £2.2m in Keenan Recycling in 2015 to fund its development in Central Scotland.
As part of the deal, Jim Clark – founder of oil and gas waste management company MSIS – joined the board of Keenan Recycling as its chairman.