Frontline International vice president Giovanni Brienza was a featured speaker on a panel debate during the first day of the Restaurant & Takeaway Innovation Expo 2018. Brienza spoke on the topic “Ethical Eats: How Sustainable is Your Business?”

He was asked a number of questions relating to the appropriate disposal of fats, oils, and greases, and how various practices can impact the environment. Brienza told attendees that pouring waste oil down the drain sadly remains a common practice.

“Municipal sewer systems are not designed to process cooking oil—or any kind of oil,” Brienza told the audience. “Some people like to think they dump it down the drain and the problem goes away, but the problem is just starting. It clogs pipes, causes ruptures, blockages, and costly repairs. It’s bad for the environment … It’s just a bad practice. Don’t do it.”

Brienza also discussed how choosing the right oil management equipment can encourage proper disposal of oil and make it easy to earn money by selling waste oil to a render.

“Renderers are sometimes called ‘the original recyclers,’” says Brienza. “Using a renderer to properly dispose of fats, oils, and greases may be the ultimate in sustainability. The product has already served a useful purpose: to provide food for people. Now it’s going to be collected and converted into something else that people can use. That can be as diverse as biofuel, nutrient additives to pet food and animal feed, or for use in paint or candles.”

Adam Petyt, director of Cornware UK, and Gavin Curr, an accountant with MB Consultancy, joined Brienza on the panel. Restaurant & Takeaway Innovation Expo 2018, Europe’s only trade show for the foodservice industry focused on innovation, was held Sept. 25 and 26 in London.

“It was an honor to be selected to speak on the panel debate,” says Brienza. “These are important topics facing our industry, and I was pleased to share Frontline International’s message of safety, sustainability, and savings with the audience.”