Recycling Oil and Batteries in Joao Pessoa

Waste cooking oil

What do you do with cooking oil when it’s finished? Soak it up with a cloth and stick it in the bin, throw it down the sink waste?

Did you know there are four recycling points around João Pessoa where you can take the oil. From there it is taken to a central processing plant where it is reprocessed and turned into soap. Over 70 beach bars already provide oil for the centre and there is a big drive to get more householders involved. It takes 40 minutes to reprocess 5 litres of oil and turn it into 50 bars of soap at a cost of R$4.50.

I am told the soap is the kitchen soap type and is being sold by the needy to supplement their income.

The dangers of cooking oil

Apart from making your chips taste horrible and giving you wind, there are more serious dangers from disposing of oil incorrectly.

• When the oil enters the lakes and rivers it actually prevents the sunlight from penetrating the water affect the plant life below.
• Not only does it coat the walls of pipes but it also coats the flora and fauna too.
• When left to break down in the open air, the decomposing material produces methane one of the greenhouse gases.

So where do you take the oil?

Nucleo de Cabo Branco
Avenida Paulino Perito (between the Vesoer ariel and Posto Cabo Branco)

Nucleo Bessa
Near the 5010 bus terminal and the Catholic church.

Nucleo mangabeira
Rua Manoel Roberto Nascimento
Jardim Cidade Universitaria, near CIAC

Nucleo 13 de Maio
Ave Espirito Santo

Main depot of EMLUR
Ave Minas Gerais 177
Bairro dos Estados.

Pao de Açucar,

Miramar, Epitacio Pessoa branch

Retao de Manaira (between MAG and Manaira shopping)

What about batteries?

Well, Emlur will take car batteries away but you can take household batteries to Banco Real who have 150 collecting points, 31 of which are in Paraíba.

A new law has just been passed in Brasilia (12-9-2008) stating that within two years all premises selling batteries must also have a special container for the correct disposal of batteries.

---