To:

The Letters Editor (Opinion section)

The Brunei Times,
3rd Floor, Wisma Haji Mohd. Taha,
Jalan Gadong BE 4119
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.
Email: letterseditor@bruneitimes.com.bn.

We would like share our concern about waste cooking oil

problems in Brunei Darussalam.
Waste cooking oil, also known as used cooking oil or recovered
vegetable oil result from the cooking of food by home cookers,
food manufacturers and catering establishment such as
restaurants and industrial kitchens.

We have found in our survey that some restaurants in Brunei give

away their waste cooking oil for hawkers to reuse in cooking. The
usage of cooking oil more than once poses threats to the health
of the community before it affects the environment as a result of
improper disposal. A toxic compound – HNE will accumulate over
time and this will react with amino acids, DNA and other
biomolecule in the human body. This leads to diseases such as
heart diseases, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease,
liver and other diseases.

We have also found that many people in Brunei pour their waste
oil down drains and do not send their waste cooking oil for
recycling. Waste cooking oil when poured down drains:

1
 1. causes drains and sewers to be blocked up if it is being
disposed in the drain. If saturated oil is used, the oil will
tend to solidify which result in the blockage of house drains
and sewers as well as have a masking effect on biological
growth. The sewage treatment may not work properly if
waste oil is drained into it.
2. they may eventually end up in rivers, streams or ponds.
This oil causes a disastrous effect on any kind of life forms
in the rivers, streams or ponds as they kill fish, birds and
water plants as a lot of water will be contaminated.
3. When waste oil is poured on the ground, “logging” problems
arise. This is because the soil will become sealed off from
air and water, killing the earth worms and bacteria
necessary for regeneration.

Therefore it makes sense to not dispose of waste cooking oil

down the drain or on the ground but to collect the waste cooking
oil to be recycled or reused for other purposes.
Many companies in Malaysia, India, Iran, Thailand, China and
United Arab Emirates collect and buy waste cooking oil for the
production of biodiesel, which can be used as car fuel. There are
also cars that run on waste cooking oil itself without being
converted into biodiesel. Therefore, we would like to suggest that
waste cooking oil be collected by Bruneians for recycling or be
used with cars running on waste cooking oil.

We hope that this letter will bring us one step towards living in a
more sustainable environment in Brunei Darussalam.

2
Safura Binti Dato Seri Setia Haji Lamit.
Rufaidah Binti Haji Ibrahim.
JM Qistina Rangga
Hartini Binti Hassim.
Fourth year Students of PS 3403; A Multidisciplinary Approach for
A Sustainable Environment course. University of Brunei
Darussalam.