Cooking up new ideas with kitchen waste

In 2017 we got the chance to explore an exciting recycling opportunity at VOX cinemas that sees waste cooking oil being used to power vehicles. These large entertainment venues include commercial kitchens and restaurants, which use a high volume of cooking oil on a daily basis. This creates a real waste disposal issue because cooking oil can’t be reused indefinitely and it’s difficult to dispose of responsibly when it’s no longer fit for purpose.

We knew there must be a better solution, so in 2017 we teamed up with Habtoor who now collects and recycles more than 100,000 litres of grease a year from restaurants and fast food chains at VOX cinemas in Dubai. Every drop of used cooking oil that’s collected is recycled into fuel that can be used to run buses, heat homes and even generate electricity.

Not only has this saved thousands of Emirati Dirhams in waste disposal costs, it has actually generated AED 137,500 in revenue from the sale of waste oil. But we know this is just the beginning – there are so many opportunities to find more treasure buried in our waste. And that’s the really exciting part.