Sabah has potential to boost biomass and biofuel development, says Deputy Commodities Minister

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is capable of contributing more to biomass and biofuel development, says Deputy Plantations and Commodities Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin.

“However, due to low awareness, we are among the lowest contributors of used cooking oil (UCO) in the country,” he said during the Fryer 2 Flyer campaign here Saturday (Aug 3).

Chan said to increase participation among users in recycling used cooking oil for the purpose of sustainability, recycling and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) had in July last year launched its “Fryer 2 Flyer” campaign where selected gas stations collect UCO.

This campaign is a joint effort with the Plantations and Commodities Ministry.

Those who bring their UCO are paid RM2.50 per kg in Sabah, said Chan, adding that this price is lower than those in the peninsula because Sabah still enjoys subsidies on oil and fuel.

He said similar to the City Hall’s recent plastic bag reduction campaign beginning Aug 1, it is also hoped that a by-law for used cooking oil can be introduced.

“The City Hall is considering enacting a by-law for plastic bag usage, right? So I think they can also consider a by-law for used cooking oil disposal and recycling so that we can work better towards a low carbon city status for Kota Kinabalu,” he said.

For PETRONAS, the collected UCO can be turned into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) while City Hall, as the partner for this campaign, will act as the movers for sustainable living in the city, said Chan.

The value of SAF is three times higher than normal aviation fuel price.

He said PETRONAS is targeting to collect some 500,000kg of UCO with the participation of over 100,000 users nationwide by year-end.

In Sabah, there are only two other Petronas fuel stations that offer UCO collection - Jalan Utara Tawau and Batu 8 Labuk, Sandakan, and these collection counters only open on Sundays.