Zomato to collect used cooking oil for biodiesel

Food aggregator Zomato will collect used cooking oil from restaurants in northern India and supply it to BioD Energy for conversion into biodiesel...

Food aggregator Zomato will collect used cooking oil from restaurants in northern India and supply it to BioD Energy for conversion into biodiesel, which oil company use for blending with fuel at their retail outlets.

"After this partnership, we have a collection network of about 130 tonnes per month from 1,000+ kitchens in Delhi-NCR and a few other cities in North India. We will collect from several large QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) brands, hotels, and food processors," said Ritesh Khera, vice-president (sustainability) at Zomato.

Zomato has set a target of 1,000 metric tonnes of collection every month by March 2020 and aims at expanding the program to all 500 cities where it has a presence, depending on distribution capabilities.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set the limit for Total Polar Compounds at 25% beyond which the vegetable oil shall not be used. The regulator notified that all Food Business Operators (FBOs) must comply with this limit from July 1, 2018.

The partnership will get a certificate for compliance to the restaurants from FSSAI by ensuring traceability on end-use of UCO. BioD Energy sells about 30,000 litres of converted biodiesel per day to retailers and companies. It collects oil at a high cost of 13 per litre because of competition from illegal vendors. 

"The cheapest virgin oil in the market is 95-100 per litre whereas the dirty mixed oil is about 30-40 per litre. So buying costs for us is significantly higher because the restaurants have an alternative to discard the used oil," said Shiva Vig, CEO, BioD Energy.

Biodiesel can be used in most diesel vehicles without any engine modification and is known to be 'carbon neutral', meaning, it produces zero carbon emissions. Biodiesel comes under 12% GST slab and is sold at a discount to normal diesel, saving 10-11% of consumer cost.

In August, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation invited expressions of interest (EoIs) to procure biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO) in 100 cities.

"We are currently selling it in the private market but we are soon going to close a tender issued by the government," said Vig.