Project Idea | Fuel Balance

Last Updated : 13 Jul, 2022

The idea is to make an app that will help in correcting the demand-supply gap in the recycling of Used Cooking Oil (UCO). The unmonitored release of the UCO has become a matter of concern to environmental safety and is an opportunity lost by the small vendors who can use it to earn income by supplying it to the big companies for recycling. We are aiming to create a platform that can deal with both the problems in the most elegant way and also make way for employment and revenue generation. For small vendors/shops, the idea of earning money over waste products is uncommon. This is due to the lack of information flow and the inability to meet up the required demand. Through this app, we will generate extra income for sellers(vendors) and meet the large quantities of demand by the buyers(companies) for re-cycle.

The crisis of Used Cooking Oil: Used Cooking Oils are oils and fats that have been used for cooking or frying in the food processing industry, restaurants, fast foods, and at the consumer level, in households. The European Waste Catalogue (EWC) classifies them as Municipal Wastes (household waste and similar commercial, industrial and institutional wastes) including separately collected fractions.

The reason why UCO has become a prominent issue for the environment is that it causes devastating physical effects, such as coating animals and plants with oil and suffocating them by oxygen depletion. Waterfowl and other birds, mammals, and fish that get coated with animal fats or vegetable oils could die of hypothermia, dehydration, diarrhoea, or starvation. It’s toxic and forms toxic products that linger in the environment for many years. UCO can also destroy future and existing food supplies, breeding animals, and habitats. It produces rancid odors, foul shorelines, clogs water treatment plants, and catches fire when ignition sources are present.

Effective Methods Implemented: UCO is also one of the biggest hassles restaurant owners and other businesses face in terms of disposal. The effective way to deal with UCO is by recycling it. Many big companies like SpillFix Ltd, SeQuential, Prajwala BioEnergy, AADHUNIK GLOBAL ENERGY along the government are working on this project at a global level.

Recycling used cooking oil isn’t just the right thing to do for the environment – it’s the smart thing to do for your finances. The global used cooking oil market is growing at a rapid rate, with an Allied Market Research report projecting the market’s size to grow up to a whopping $8.89 billion by 2026. In 2019, the feedstock volume of used cooking oil for fuel biodiesel production was 50,000 metric tons in India. Used cooking oil is sourced mainly from food processing industries, restaurants, hotels, and food business operators.

Objective: Connect small vendors(Sellers) with leftover cooking oil to businesses(Buyers) who can extract biofuel from it to minimize resource wastage and pollution.

Introduction: Our target is to take this initiative to the areas where it cannot reach. Small vendors/restaurants (sellers) do not use cooking oil in large quantities and hence are unable to meet the required demand by the companies(buyers). They also lack awareness about Recycling the UCO. The improper disposal of UCO on their end is not only damaging habitat but also a chance lost to earn extra income. The companies(buyers) which recycle used oils pay their provider for providing the materials. Our motive is to pool these small-scale businesses, collect the materials in the required amount, and then sell them to the buyers who in turn will recycle them. Through this method, people living in smaller areas will be able to make more money, and awareness about this venture will also spread. Our customers, the vendors(sellers), and the organizations(buyers) both will profit from participating in this action.

Tools Used:

React Native
The backend for the framework has been written in the Django framework for Python3.
Amazon Web Services

Concept:

The sellers will be required to give their information to us for locating and including them as a part of our venture. Their contacts will be used to identify and pinpoint them by our logistics crew, whereas their account information will be used for conducting money transactions. The sellers will be given options in which they can partake. There will be no limit to the number of transactions they can make, till the time they meet the criteria. Once the collection process is done the payment will be completed through a closed wallet method making it a hands-on process. The second part of the process will be the exchange with buyers. The oil will be delivered to the companies providing the best rate and in the quantity desired by them where they will take the material, it runs through the checklist(verifying the quality of the oil) and completes the deal.

This cycle of exchange will help us generate employment, provide a clean habitat and create more sources of money.

Application Layout:

Login: The app will open on the login page from where the user can access their account. The app will have two fronts, one for the sellers(vendors) who will be the material provider and will get paid for their services, and the Partner’s page where the management of collect the oil from the sellers and deposit the oil to the buyers will occur.

The Sellers Page: This site will contain all the details relating to the vendors. The vendors can choose from the quantity of oil they can provide to the amount of money they can make per liter of oil. Their activities and payment histories will be recorded and can be later reviewed and edited by them.

The Partners Page: This site will have two pages for oil collection and disposal. The employee collecting the oil will be given a fixed amount of money in the wallet on the app through which he will complete the transactions on the spot with the sellers. He will also get the list of sellers along with their location. The employee transporting the oil to the company(buyer) will be given the drop-off location. This chain of events will happen simultaneously completing the whole process.

Team Members: