Croats Recycled the First Ton of Edible Oil

INA, in partnership with Agroproteinka, today held the first in a series of planned lectures at the Sesvete Primary School about the importance of recycling waste edible oil and other household waste.

Six months after the introduction of the new “green” service at selected INA retail locations, customers and citizens have disposed of the first ton of waste edible oil. This is the first ton of such oil collected by households in Croatia, which will instead of ending up in the sewage and the environment, be recycled. The company continues to provide this service and is considering options for expansion to other parts of Croatia.

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So far, the most waste edible oil has been submitted by citizens of the Trešnjevka district in Zagreb, around 140 kilograms, while their fellow citizens from Maksimir and Čakovec have also contributed around 100 kilograms each. Households, unlike restaurants, are not legally obligated to collect waste edible oil, but recycling it contributes to environmental preservation, a fact that was also conveyed to the primary school students from Sesvete during a lecture held by representatives of INA and Agroproteinka.

“We are pleased that our loyal customers and other citizens have recognized INA’s new service and are thus helping to preserve the environment. Waste edible oil is a valuable raw material and it does not belong in the sewage. Our goal, as a socially responsible company focused on sustainable development, is to raise awareness of this fact among citizens from a young age,” said Ms. Vesna Kučan-Polak, head of INA’s waste edible oil collection project.

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“At Agroproteinka, we continuously work on strengthening ecological awareness, both in our technological processes and in our living and social environment. Through this project, and other ecological projects we have conducted with students and preschool children from Sesvete, we participate in creating a new culture of environmental relations and spread knowledge that proper waste separation is crucial for effective waste management. Our company has over 10 years of experience in collecting and filtering waste edible oil, which should not “wander” in the environment and endanger it, as recycling turns it into a valuable raw material,” said Ms. Ana Špehar, head of the environmental protection department at Agroproteinka.

The primary school students from Sesvete learned during the lecture that Croatia lags behind the most developed countries in the European Union, such as Belgium and Austria, in collecting waste edible oil, where households recycle more than 50 percent of the oil they use for food preparation.