A destinação do óleo de cozinha usado e o papel da educação ambiental

Abstract

The cooking oil used appears on the list of major environmental pollutants and can be reused almost entirely. Part of the society that uses cooking oil does not dispose of it properly and ends up disposing of this waste in sewage, household waste, common waste or even directly on the ground. The volume of waste oils collected in Brazil is low, less than 1% of the total produced and the oil is one of the biggest polluters of fresh and salt water in the most populated regions of Brazil. In this context, a question arises: what is the destination of the cooking oil used in the municipality of Marechal Cândido Rondon-PR in the rural and urban area? With the solid waste issue as a background, this work sought answers by analyzing two specific groups with questionnaires. In the urban area, a set of restaurants and other establishments offering meals was selected, being a group of 25 owners or those responsible for them. In the rural area the focus of the research was with the Clubs of Mothers, in a group of 52 women. A questionnaire was also applied to the company collecting the waste and semi-structured interviews with a representative of the government and cooperatives of collectors / recyclers. In general, bars and restaurants correctly dispose of their used oil due to the action of a collecting company that searches the establishments and remunerates the waste. Proper destination costs nothing to owners of establishments, and still generates revenue. Regarding the group of women, even though 63% are aware that the oil and fats used can be reused to make other products and also that 71% know that the oil used pollutes the environment, a large part (48%) incorrectly discards on the soil or in the sink. All expressed the need for more information and put the demand for non-formal environmental education. Environmental education is in line with addressing this problem as it develops environmental awareness. The action that results from an environmentally conscious person does not depend on current legislation and inspection and the disposal of this waste may have an appropriate destination.