Your Burning Questions Answered

A contract is not a requirement for our used cooking oil recycling and/or grease trap cleaning services. However, we do require you to sign a service agreement granting us permission to place a collection container on your premises. The service agreement also grants us the right to collect the used cooking oil from the container as well as permission to access your grease traps for necessary cleanings. For a hassle-free experience, our service agreements are generated and signed digitally. This allows you to sign them at your convenience in the comfort of your office (or home).

And if you decide that you don’t need our services, you can cancel the service agreement at any time. All we ask is that you give us 30 days notice. This is so we have enough time to remove our collection container from your premises. 

Unfortunately, at this time we are unable to pay you for your used cooking oil. This is mainly due to the increased costs involved in collecting and recycling used cooking oil. Add to that the low crude oil prices and the returns on recycling and selling used cooking oil become so low they make it impractical for us to pay for your used cooking oil.

While this may change in the future, the current trend simply doesn’t support payment to restaurants. And yes, we do know some companies do offer to pay for your used cooking oil. However, in most cases, these are just empty promises designed to get your business. These companies either won’t pay or the amount they pay is so insignificant that it’s negligible.

Having said that, it is our desire to compensate new customers for their business and existing customers for their continued loyalty. We believe the best way we can reciprocate is to provide discounted or free (quarterly) grease trap cleaning services for your foodservice operation. And the more used cooking oil you generate, the more leverage you have to negotiate for better terms for your grease trap cleaning. As a regular customer, we believe we can reduce your current grease trap cleaning expenses significantly.

Yes. We do provide you with a collection container large enough to accommodate the amount of used cooking oil your operation generates. The collection containers we provide range in size from 50-gallon drums to 300-gallon custom containers. On top of that, we can also provide you with custom-built oil dollys. These are designed to make it easier and safer to transport the used cooking oil from your kitchen to the outdoor collection container.

Do we charge for the containers? No, we will not charge you for the collection container for the time that we are providing services to you. However, you need to understand that the collection containers are not cheap and they’re not yours to keep. This means in the event that the service agreement is canceled, we expect to be able to collect our container. And if the container is stolen or sustains irreparable damage while in your care, we reserve the right to seek reimbursement.

How often we pick up your used cooking oil is mainly dependent on how much of it your restaurant generates. Another factor is the size of the collection container that your premises could accommodate. But to put it in perspective, most of our customers are serviced on a monthly basis. However, others generate so much used cooking oil that it needs to be collected on a bi-weekly or even weekly basis. The good news is that you don’t incur any extra costs if we collect your used cooking oil more than once a month. Regardless of how many times we come out and collect your oil, our charges remain the same.

Most certainly. All the services rendered by Charles Environmental (from used cooking oil collection to grease trap cleaning, and pressure cleaning) are recorded in our database. We also make sure to send you a copy of the records via email. When your collection container is delivered, we also furnish you with a receipt so you know exactly when your collection container was delivered. We strive to ensure that you have a record of all the services we perform. These can be useful, not just for your books, but also in case your county’s health  department or water inspector needs them. And for the cherry on top, we’re soon rolling out a new feature on our website that will allow you to view your account online. What’s more, you can also download and print your receipts and invoices directly from our site.