There are so many things we learn as young homeowners (or renters, for that matter) about what does and does not go down the sink drain.

Some of us have learned those lessons the hard way (come on, I can’t be alone here).

One of those things is cooking oil – but if you can’t wash it away, what should you do with, exactly?

Ideally, you want your oil out in the open so that microbes can assist you with breaking it down and getting rid of it, but the thought of leaving it outdoors near your house is probably more than a bit unappetizing.

Enter National Geographic, who recently published a bit about how you can use “oil solidifiers” to turn it into basically a fat pancake you can throw out safely with your trash.

They emulsify your oil, hardening it as it cools until it’s just a greasy disc.

You can compost it, too, and if you’ve got a lot of it for some reason, you might be able to give it to a facility that works with large volumes of black gold.

The remaining product can also be refined into biodiesel, candles, soaps, or a bunch of other products that people use every day.

Who would have thought the oil you fry your fish or french fries in could have such an exciting second life?

Certainly not me, but I’m not about to deny it a good time.