Environmental issues

Oops just found Science/Nature/Environment.
Ah well.

Probably get more coverage on here, though. And even more on Chat!

FWIW, I don't think that many people give a second's thought to what they put down their sinks/washbasins/toilets/outside drains. Or realise that it all ends up in the same system. Not their fault, really, no-one makes much of an effort to educate the public.

It would be helpful if fats were to be added to our recycling efforts.

True; my daughter had ongoing problems with her drains because she used to put baby wipes down the toilet. I used to put cotton wool down mine [and sometimes kitchen roll which doesn't break down in the way that toilet roll does]. It was sheer ignorance from people that should have known better [but genuinely hadn't given it a second thought]. And this, at a time when I was obsessed with recycling everything.

Mind you, advice like this from Thames Water (quoted in the article) is particularly fatuous (excuse the pun)

Thames Water has urged customers not to flush offending items and to throw cooking oil in the bin after letting it cool and solidify.

What planet are they living on where cooking oil solidifies when it's cold?

It is the usual story of people "being bothered".
Damn the environment if it means someone has to actually deal with oils and fats.
It is true that cooking oils do not solidify so the only way is to collect old/used oils in an old plastic(?) bottle, and dispose of it in the correct bin.
But of course, you have to be BOTHERED.

I think a lot of people aren't actually sure what to do with things like oil, etc.

Which bin would that be grannysue (genuine question) ?

Plastic in recycling I get, but plastic full of old oil?

I heard on radio 4 that one of the big "art" galleries has bought/acquired a lump of that fat to display in their gallery!

The bin to use for old oil/fat is the black one in our area. It is the bin for anything that cannot be re-cycled.
I know the colours of bins vary area to area.
We have a council issued leaflet outlining all the items you should put in in the different coloured bins.

The flats here aren't even given the basic recycling bins for food or plastic. The council were made aware several years ago. They bought a bin for glass, then took it away again a few months later.

As there is a huge problem building with plastics I really don't see that disposing of used cooking oil by putting it a plastic bottle (which should really be recycled) and sending it to landfill is a particularly good solution for anything but the short term.

Used cooking oil can be converted to fuel for cars, lorries etc. It must be possible to add used cooking oil to domestic waste recycling to increase the uptake of this fuel.