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Business in El Milagro Shut Down Over Dumped Grease: Where to Drop Off Used Oil for Free in Cancún

Benito Juárez's Ecology Department sealed a business for mishandling special waste and filed an environmental complaint; two permanent collection centers take used cooking oil.

By Miguel Díaz Miró · Responsible editor ·
Closure seals placed by municipal authorities on a business in Cancún

The General Ecology Department of the Benito Juárez city government shut down a commercial establishment in the El Milagro neighborhood for the irresponsible handling of special waste, mainly cooking oil and vegetable grease, municipal authorities reported on July 24. City Secretary Pablo Gutiérrez Fernández took part in the operation.

Beyond placing closure seals, the municipality filed a complaint with Quintana Roo's Environmental Protection Office (PPA), and the case is under investigation for possible environmental crimes and groundwater contamination — an especially serious risk in the Yucatán Peninsula, where the karst terrain (porous limestone) lets pollutants reach the aquifer that supplies the city itself.

Ecology chief Fernando Haro Salinas noted that large generators of this kind of waste, such as restaurants, are required to hold a Waste Management Plan authorized by the state's Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Where to drop off used oil (free)

If you cook at home or run a small business, never pour used oil down the drain or into the street: one liter of oil can contaminate thousands of liters of water. The municipality runs two permanent collection centers:

  • Parque de la Equidad, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
  • Dr. Enrique Barocio Library, same hours.

Store cooled oil in a sealed plastic bottle and hand it in at either location. Throughout 2026 there are also traveling Reciclatón collection days at different spots around the municipality that accept this waste.

How to report violations

If you spot a business dumping oil, grease or special waste into the sewer, the street or vacant lots, you can report it to the Benito Juárez city government at (998) 881-28-00 or in person at City Hall. Environmental complaints can also be filed with the state's Environmental Protection Office.

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