The Ham Trick campaign recycles fat from Christmas dishes

For the fourth year in a row, the Ham Trick campaign will turn fats from ham and other Christmas dishes into Neste MY Renewable diesel. People can collect fat in used milk cartons and take it to one of the over 200 collection points across Finland, over 70 of which are located at Rinki eco take-back points.

By Rinki

Kuva Kinkkutemppu

Finns roast about seven million kilos of ham every year as well as fish, turkeys and other Christmas dishes. This produces a huge amount of fat that needs to be recycled in the correct way. Waste cooking fat must never be poured down the sink because it blocks the drainage system.

The Ham Trick campaign will open 218 collection points for waste fats across Finland between 21 December 2019 and 7 January 2020. The collection points will be located at some K-Supermarkets, selected Neste service stations and the collection points of some municipal waste companies, for example. Over seventy of the K Group’s collection points are located at adjoining Rinki eco take-back points.

Waste cooking fat should be taken to a collection point in a liquid carton such as an empty milk carton; glass or metal jars are not suitable for collecting fat. The fat collected will be used for producing Neste MY Renewable diesel.

Great interest in the Ham Trick campaign

Finns have really embraced this circular economy campaign: over the three Christmases that the Ham Trick campaign has been running, more than 100,000 kilos of waste fat has been collected. The renewable diesel made from this amount of fat would be enough to drive more than 1000 times the distance between Hanko and Nuorgam.

The goal for this year is to increase the attendance rate from last year’s 185,000 households to at least 200,000. As in previous years, the campaign will make a donation to Hope Association, which supports low-income families.

The renewable diesel made from this amount of fat would be enough to drive more than 1000 times the distance between Hanko and Nuorgam.

The Ham Trick campaign is a joint venture of 14 organisations. The Chemical Industry Federation of Finland is joined by Neste, Lassila & Tikanoja, Honkajoki, K Group, Finnish Packaging Recycling RINKI, Atria, HKScan, Snellman, the Rural Women’s Advisory Organisation, the federation of garbage disposal plants Kiertovoima KIVO and municipal waste companies, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the Finnish Water Utilities Association and the Finnish Environmental Industries YTP.

More information about the campaign and the collection points (in Finnish): www.kinkkutemppu.com