Since 2012, Korea has mandated the use of biodiesel to protect the environment. Recently, research on producing biodiesel using discarded used cooking oil has been actively conducted, attracting attention from the aviation sector and the oil refining industry, which require the mandatory use of biodiesel. However, even if biodiesel can be made from used cooking oil, the actual proportion of used cooking oil used to produce biodiesel is very low. Lack of information is also the cause, but in the end, there is also a problem with the lack of merit and means for ordinary households to participate in the collection of waste cooking oil even if they know this method. When it comes to domestic use, the collection rate drops significantly.

Selling used cooking oil conveniently

REU, a platform that transforms used cooking oil into a circular resource

Sustain us is an eco-friendly company that runs REU, a platform that transforms used cooking oil into a circular resource. In REU, transactions are carried out by registering a sale through the app without the seller having to find a buyer, and the buyer participating in the bidding. Transactions are based on areas where actual collection is available and are in the form of competitive bidding. Buyers deposit the money into REU in advance before collection, and after collection, the transaction is carried out in such a way that the amount calculated based on the measured amount of used cooking oil is delivered to the seller.

Through these transactions, small business owners can trade used cooking oil conveniently and at the highest purchase price. REU provides benefits and convenience by disclosing transaction prices and providing various market information. Sustain us is exploring ways to reduce used cooking oil not only in restaurants but also in ordinary homes.

▲ Sustain us / CEO Jaehoon Chae

Encouraging households to participate

‘OnlyU’, an unmanned plastic bottle collector

The amount of used cooking oil produced by ordinary households is not very large, and collectors are rare. Since used cooking oil causes problems with waste disposal and blocked pipes, it is believed that even ordinary households will use it if there is an easy way to do it. For this purpose, Sustain us developed ‘OnlyU’, an unmanned used cooking oil collector. If you put used cooking oil in a plastic bottle and place it in the collector, you can receive compensation in cash. The Collector is the size of a medium-sized refrigerator and uses batteries as a power source, so it can be installed anywhere and can store up to 200L of used cooking oil. The IR sensor checks real-time inventory quantity and transmits and receives data to manage it. The company also has its own collection and machine management operation system for this purpose. OnlyU received a positive response at the Korea ESG Eco-Friendly Competition and is preparing for an empirical test in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. The company said “We will create sustainable value without using the environment as a business tool.”