Regulation to stop production of 'gutter oil'

Shanghai's new regulation to prevent the use and collection of restaurants' waste oil takes effect on Friday, and businesses that break the law could face a fine of up to 100,000 yuan ($16,000).

The regulation is the city's latest attempt to curb the use of "gutter oil", or reprocessed kitchen oil that is illegally recycled and then used at restaurants.

Officials said a seamless system will be built by establishing a complete and new management chain in Shanghai. "We used to regard the waste oil as garbage, and restaurants needed to pay a 'garbage fee' to the government for its disposal. But from now on, it joins the list of 'resources' that we'd purchase from restaurants at a fair price," said Liu Ping, an official with the Shanghai government's legislative affairs office.