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  Straits Times 6 Jun 07
Poly team makes soap from waste cooking oil
By Michelle Neo

AFTER Newater - Newsoap? Detergent soap used in Temasek Polytechnic will soon be made from the very substance it attacks - waste cooking oil.

A research team comprising a lecturer and three students from the polytechnic's Applied Science School spent about six months tinkering in the laboratory to develop the soap.

And yesterday, in conjunction with World Environment Day, the polytechnic announced that the soap will be used in all of its canteens, toilets and laboratories within the next two years.

The move is expected to cut cooking oil waste and the use of fresh oil resources. The soap will also help to cut costs: more than $18,000 can be saved every year from spending less on waste collection services and on purchasing ordinary soap.

Traditional soap production uses fresh vegetable or palm oil, while waste cooking oil from the school's seven canteens is usually collected by private contractors, who then sell it for reuse.

In households, waste cooking oil is usually poured down the drain, which may result in clogged pipes.

The newly developed soap has been tested by the polytechnic's seven canteens. Most of the vendors gave it the thumbs up for cleansing power, but said it had a 'smell' and an 'awful brown colour'.

Said Madam Elsie Ang, who manages one of the canteens: 'If they improve on these two aspects, I don't see why we shouldn't use the soap for cleaning purposes.'
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