Learn what to do with used cooking oil and where to recycle it
When: 5 - 8 PM, Tuesday April 22, 2025
Where: Hillsborough County Customer Service Center, 332 N Falkenberg Rd., Tampa, FL 33619
In this workshop, participants will gain firsthand insight into Hillsborough County's wastewater system and explore environmental outreach efforts and customer programs that communities can engage in to improve wastewater practices.
Used cooking oils are a serious problem for home plumbing and Hillsborough County's wastewater collection system. Cooking oil that is poured down the drain gels and solidifies inside pipes, sewage lines and sewage lift stations, constricting water flow. That can back up home plumbing, and also cause equipment to malfunction, leading to sewage spills, overflows onto streets, and foul odors in homes and neighborhoods.
Hillsborough County's Cooking Oil Recycling Effort is for residential cooking oil. "Commercial and industrial customers must contact a Hillsborough County Registered Grease Hauler for cooking oil disposal. This list can be requested by emailing GotGrease@HCFL.gov.
Cooking oil DOs and DON’Ts | Reglas acerca del aceite de cocina
How I can make a difference?
- Carefully pour cooled cooking oil into a large, sturdy plastic or wax-coated container, such as the original container, a juice carton, or a Cooking Oil Recycling Effort jug
- Cap the container and store in a cool, safe location
- Don’t mix the oil with any other liquids or products
- Once the container is full, bring it to a Cooking Oil Recycling Effort station or to one of our Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers
Request a presentation
Did you know that Hillsborough County Public Utilities offers complementary educational presentations to community groups on the Cooking Oil Recycling Effort (CORE)/Unflushables Program? Standard presentations can be adjusted depending on your group size, and most presentations are 15-20 minutes in length.
*Presentation requests must be submitted at least two weeks in advance, and please note that some presentation may not be fulfilled due to demand, scheduling conflicts and/or location.
Request a CORE presentationLocations of CORE stations
Bring your container of used cooking oil and grease to one of these locations at any time. Look for the brightly-colored, free-standing cabinet with the Cooking Oil Recycling Effort identification. See map and click on the categories below the map for location details.
Public utility service center
- Brandon Support Operations Complex (BSOC) - 332 N. Falkenburg Road Tampa, FL 33619 (north of State Road 60, just south of Animal Services)
Libraries
- 78th Street Community Library - 7625 Palm River Road
Tampa, FL 33619 - Austin Davis Public Library - 17808 Wayne Road
Odessa, FL 33556 - Bloomingdale Regional Library - 106 Bloomingdale Ave.
Valrico, FL 33596 - Brandon Regional Library - 619 Vonderburg Drive
Brandon, FL 33511 - Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library - 2902 W. Bearss Ave.
Tampa, FL 33618 - Maureen B. Gauzza Public Library - 11211 Countryway Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33626 - Riverview Branch Library - 9951 Balm Riverview Road
Tampa, FL 33569 - Seffner-Mango Branch Library - 410 N. Kingsway Road
Seffner, FL 33584 - SouthShore Regional Library - 15816 Beth Shields Way
Ruskin, FL 33573
Parks & Rec Centers
- Jackson Springs Park & Community Center - 8620 Jackson Springs Rd. in Tampa
- Northdale Park & Recreation Center - 15550 Spring Pine Drive in Tampa
- Northlakes Sports Complex- 2640 Lakeview Drive in Tampa (east of Dale Mabry Highway in the Northlakes area)
- Woodlake Park - 9207 Woodlake Blvd. in Tampa (south of Waters Avenue and west of Sheldon Road in Town ‘N Country)
Other county locations
- 6th Street Utility Pump Station - 306 6th St. S.E.
Ruskin, FL 33570 - Covington Garden Pump Station - 6505 Covington Garden Drive
Tampa, FL 33572 - Durant Road Utility Pump Station - 5219 Durant Rd. Dover, FL 33527
- Fishhawk Utility Pump Station - 15455 Fishhawk Blvd. Lithia, FL 33547
- Golf and Sea Pump Station - 6071 Golf and Sea Blvd. Apollo Beach, FL
- Hamilton Pump Station - 4116 W. Hamilton Ave. Tampa, FL
- Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission - 3629 Queen Palm Drive
Tampa, FL 33619 - Northwest County Solid Waste Transfer Station - 8001 W. Linebaugh Ave. Tampa, FL 33625
- SouthShore Regional Service Center - 410 30th St SE Ruskin, FL 33570
- Summerfield Pump Station - 13393 Summerfield Blvd.
Riverview, FL 33579
HHW collection centers
Recycled cooking oil is also accepted at Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Centers on select Saturdays monthly. Check out all of the locations and hours at the HHW Collection Centers.
Contact
For more information contact our Public Utilities Grease Management Program at (813) 272-5977, ext. 43515.
Learn about other things that should never go down the drain