May 11, 2008

Used Fry Grease Rich Target For Grease Gangs…Seriously

Bookmark and Share Email this story Print this post Add your comments

With grease being used to make biodiesel, and its price tripling in the past two years, thieves are breaking into the outdoor bins at restaurants to steal it, CSMonitor reports. Yellow grease, the byproduct of boiling and filtering raw grease and what gets turned into biodiesel, trades on US commodities markets for 32 cents per pound.

The problem, according to Christopher Griffin, director of legal affairs for Griffin Industries, a company that collects raw grease in 20 states and turns it into yellow grease, is that there’s no free grease anymore – it’s all under contract. So people new to the business who can’t get the volume of grease they want, “just steal it,” Griffin says.

And it’s not just commercial operators battling it out for the grease. Individuals are also stealing grease to make biodiesel at home.

Last year, San Francisco launched SFGreasecycle, a free program in which the city will pick up used cooking oil and grease from local restaurants, turning them into biodiesel to run city vehicles.

Bookmark and Share Email this story Print this post Add your comments

Advertisers

Join the Discussion

Get EL Daily in your inbox, subscribe to free newsletter

Recent Daily News [ see all ]

  • 11/06/2009
  • 11/05/2009
  • 11/04/2009

Industry Voices [ see all ]

Greening the Automotive Supply Chain

Greening the Automotive Supply Chain

A Roadmap for a Renewable Energy Partnership

A Roadmap for a Renewable Energy Partnership

Forest Carbon Core to Climate Change Deal

Forest Carbon Core to Climate Change Deal

ARPA-E Deserves Support

ARPA-E Deserves Support

VCS and CarbonFix Tops in Review of Forestry Carbon Standards

VCS and CarbonFix Tops in Review of Forestry Carbon Standards