If you plan to eat out in China...

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Actually it's better if Sam just gets the oil from the restaurant, even if it is old that's just been changed, than to get it out of the sewer. This could be handled differently with better results than just saying everyone's a criminal. Do not encourage people to dump oil in the sewers! Or animal parts, for that matter.

Well I suppose.... but you're overlooking the fact that Shady Sam can get sewer oil more cheaply than by buying it from a restaurant.
And you know, I don't personally make Chinese laws..... so..... you know, it's not like I'm responsible for encouraging people to dump stuff in the sewer system or get to decide who is (or is not) a criminal under Chinese law.

What exactly do you propose the Chinese government does, other than what they're already doing ?
This should be a viable suggestion, of course... both in terms of finance and legal enforcability.
Bearing in mind the financial and social situation within Chinese society of course.....

Encourage people to collect oil from restaurants and other places and take them to a responsible recycling shop and the government regulates these places to be sure the oil goes to the appropriate industry. Do not charge a restaurant to take the oil, that will encourage them not to dump in the sewers. The collector gets paid by the processor, not the restaurant.

Last edited by ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo on 07 Nov 2013, 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

No, I meant a viable alternative suggestion which is practical.

I mean, you think the Chinese government ought to "Encourage people to collect oil from restaurants and other places" ... how exactly ?

And the regulation would be paid for with.... a tax rise ?
Which would cause many people to drop even further below poverty level, and most likely lead to more crime in general.

You also expect the government to organise a free delivery service for restaurants, which will be paid for by 'the processor' ?
So, that's likely to be some pretty pricey recycled oil by Chinese standards.
Which 'processors' do you think would be rich enough to stump up for the delivery charge ?

What if huge areas exist where no processor will pay to collect the oil ?
Your idea is likely to make many oil processors go out of business, after all....

And what if crime gangs continue to offer small fees to the more questionably run restaurants for the oil (as they do already) rather than the restaurants having to give it away for free ?

It seems to me that your idea is likely to perpetuate a similar situation to the one which is presently happening... but perhaps worse, as it would involve higher taxes and could demolish some of the established businesses. If it were that easy, then the Chinese government would probably be trying that out already.

Yikes I had to edit my last post it was such a mess, lol, sorry for the confusion.

It would be a tax on the industry. Hey, if you are going to be an industry you MUST take responsibility imo and taxes are part of that, If you don't want to ever pay any taxes do not create industry because the world doesn't need more of that.

It's fine.

Well, I think you will find that they often don't take responsibility.
This is why there are so many restaurants which sell used oil to criminal gangs or unscrupulous individuals, even though the police are cracking down on gutter oil production to the best of their ability.

If you tax the majority of legal Chinese oil processors to the point of non-existence, then the only alternative will be illegal processors... which it seems that many Chinese restaurants would be perfectly happy to do business with. After all, they're not the ones eating the food which their restaurant produces.

I think you will find that many people who set up businesses in China are doing it in order to make money and stay alive... understandably, they are unlikely to prioritise what "the world" in general needs above that, especially if their business is on the sketchy side.

By taxing them some, you don't tax them out of business. They will continue because the profits are too large, Crack down on the illegal processors. Or, just make sure they don't dump oil and animal parts in the sewer. There's got to be a way to deal with this. Government is supposed to regulate this type of thing or just don't have government because if people do this, it's like they don't have it. It's useless.

Well, as the articles already said - the Chinese police already ARE cracking down on the illegal oil processors.... because there are regulations about it already.
I'm not sure what you think removing the Chinese government altogether would do to improve the present situation.... or how you would address various points which I made in a viable way. It's hardly as though all Chinese businesses are running along with massive profit margins, you know.

The mathematics go like this...

It costs approximately 6,000 yuan per ton for collection of gutter-grade oil.... collected from both restaurants and sewers.

Biodiesel is sold for the same price as petrol - 7,000 yuan per ton
It costs 1,000 yuan per ton to process.
The sellers also have to pay VAT (17%)

The people doing this will be making miniscule profit ... or just making ends meet and hoping for a positive price fluctuation of petrol cost in the future.

The government exempted the biodiesel producers from consumption tax (0.8 yuan per litre) about 1 1/2 years ago, however they still have to pay VAT.
With less income from VAT, there would be less money available to the Chinese government for public services... such as the police.
If you want the police to have more ability to 'crack down' on gutter oil producers, well... they do need to be properly financed to have a larger workforce... not the opposite.

The same oil could be sold as cooking grade for approximately 8,000 yuan per ton.
It costs only 300 yuan to process it illegally.
Of course, the people doing that also don't pay VAT or other taxes.

This is a matter of basic economics, and you can look the figures up on Google.

I don't think you have really considered the real-life economics and constraints of running an oil processing plant in China, or the difficulty of law enforcement in Chinese society regarding this matter.

If you have some kind of secret plan, then perhaps you should start a campaign to advise oil producers of a legitimate way to run legal biodiesel production plants in China as an alternative to producing gutter oil, while remaining financially viable as a business.

Using your logic regarding governments, then you may as well say that since there are a load of illegal drug users and other criminals in Babylon, then there might as well be no government regulating Babylon at all... since they're supposed to be regulating illegal drug supply and stopping folk from engaging in other criminal activity - and ought to be cracking down on it.

What? I am all for big government and am convinced people simply cannot govern themselves worth a darn, especially in big cities.