The specific location of the oil containers can be found with the help of a new ‘app’ named 'Carbon Foote', which is already in operation. The initiative, which cost €62 thousand, aims to encourage the recycling of used cooking oil from homes, businesses, and lodging facilities, in order to fight this type of contamination. Each container is equipped with a smart management system, which uses sensors to control the containers’ interior, and when it reaches 85 percent of its collection capacity the company is notified and can then empty them.

The innovative ‘Carbon Foote’ app makes it easier to take an environmentally conscious stand because it "tells users exactly where to go" to place the oils, "saving them time" and encouraging them to recycle food waste – a simple act which is nonetheless, typically overlooked in household separation procedures, even by those people who are regular recyclers. The funding for this operation, which is planned to last for five years, goes towards purchasing the materials needed for the campaign and publicising the technique, including the funnels that will be provided to users who download the ‘app’.

The president of the Ovar City Council, Domingos Silva has explain that, “Along with strong information and awareness-raising work among citizens, we have worked to create all the conditions so that it becomes increasingly easier and more accessible for them to adopt green measures, as we can only achieve the defined sustainability goals if we all give our contribution”.

The incorrect disposal of oil contributes to the contamination of soils and waters. As explained by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), a unique “litre of domestic oil poured down the kitchen sink drain can contaminate a million litres of water at once, enough for a person to survive until they are 40 years old”. Therefore, Domingos Silva has emphasised that “Ovar thus fulfils the legal obligation imposed on municipalities to, by 2030, implement and reinforce the selective collection of used cooking oils, contributing to the goals established in the Strategic Plan for Urban Waste 2030”.