Cooking Oil Recycling: New Ways to Look at It

As a restaurant owner, you can do your part to contribute to the environment while saving money. In South Carolina, it is estimated that the food service and hospitality industry produce between eight million and 27 million gallons of cooking oil waste grease per year.  This grease creates a substantial burden on waste-water infrastructure and water treatment facilities throughout the state. This burden makes it important for cooking oil waste grease to be collected and disposed of properly. In addition, with the rise of biodiesel, cooking oil waste grease may soon come into higher demand. Proper management of this waste is in the best interests of the waste producer, water treatment facilities[1], and the municipalities as a whole.

In some markets, where there is an applicable use and facilities utilize waste oil, companies are willing to pay restauranteurs for their spent grease. Rendering plants process the product and turn it into high energy fat that is used in animal feeds.[2]

In Oregon, for example, a large plant for cooking oil conversion was funded by Willie Nelson and other investors. Even though the costs may be higher, many individuals use it in place of diesel. You can get the same mileage per gallon while at same time, doing your part to help the US environment.[3]  Why is biodiesel fuel so important to the environment?

• Biodiesel emissions are 90% less toxic than petro-diesel and will reduce incidents of health hazards such as asthma, emphysema, and lung cancer.
• Biodiesel is domestically produced. Biodiesel benefits American farmers, American businesses and the national economy. It creates jobs and new markets for domestic agricultural products and keeping our energy dollars domestic are just a few of the many economic benefits gained by using biodiesel instead of imported petroleum diesel.
• Biodiesel saves money. Engines running on biodiesel have been shown to need less maintenance. Also, biodiesel use allows federal fleet managers to keep existing equipment on the road longer and still adhere to new, stricter emissions standards.
• Biodiesel increase engine life because it has superior lubrication quality than that of diesel fuel. It increases engine life and can be used to replace sulfur, the acid-rain-causing lubricating agent in petroleum diesel.
• Biodiesel is safer to transport. Biodiesel has a high flash point, or ignition temperature, of about 300 degrees F compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash point of 125 degrees F.
• Biodiesel-run engines have similar fuel mileage to diesel-run engines. Auto ignition, fuel consumption, power output, and engine torque are relatively unaffected by biodiesel.
• Biodiesel smells better than petroleum. It has a pleasant aroma in comparison to the toxic smell of petroleum diesel fuel.
• Biodiesel is a legitimate alternative fuel. It is recognized by the EPA as an alternative fuel and is the only alternative fuel that has successfully completed Tier I and Tier II Health Effects Testing under the Clean Air Act and meets clean diesel standards established by the California Air Resources Board.
• Biodiesel can be stored anywhere that petroleum diesel fuel is stored. All diesel-fueling infrastructure including pumps, tanks and transport existing trucks can be used with biodiesel.
• Biodiesel can be used alone or mixed in any amount with petroleum diesel fuel. A 20% blend of biodiesel with diesel fuel is called “B20,” a 5% blend is called “B5″ and so on.[4]

Cooking oil can be costly and tedious to dispose of; however, there are many options available to you that can save and make a restaurateur money, while helping to save the environment. One trend that is growing rapidly in popularity comes from private individuals who have adopted the growing trend of using waste oil as fuel for automotive use. In the current rise of environmental consciousness, more and more individuals are exploring the use of greener and more cost efficient fuels. In the wake of this movement there has been a rise in the conversion of diesel engines to run on waste oil. The process is safe and relatively inexpensive and has a great appeal to those seeking to lessen their carbon footprint or to lessen the burden on their wallet from exorbitant traditional fuel prices. These individuals are more than willing to take waste oil off of a restaurant owners hands, solving the problem of waste removal for the owner and giving him the satisfaction of knowing that he too is playing a role in protecting the environment.[5]

You can also have your oil picked up for free by local services, or receive a rebate through SLM – Facility Solutions Nationwide whose vast database include biodiesel fuel providers that help reduce overall truck emissions by 70%, eliminates acid rain-causing sulfur emissions, displaces cancer and asthma-causing diesel fumes and creates local jobs and more local energy dependency.

In the New England area, there are companies that convert waste cooking oil into on-site electricity and hot water, saving your restaurant thousands of dollars as well as providing a clean, renewable source of energy. SLM provides services where a fully automated equipment system located outside your restaurant’s back door helps run your business, while at the same time, saving you money. It requires no intervention or maintenance by restaurant staff, no additional chemicals, and produces no liquid byproducts. The unit, which is about the size of a refrigerator, is placed outside the building, similar to central air conditioning units. It hooks up through one electrical cable to the electric system. There is also a hot water feed and return system. Your hot water heater won’t have to work as hard now because the water has already been partially heated by the system. SLM ties into the existing electricity and hot water systems and provide additional energy. It is ideal for restaurants with three-five fryers. Below is some analysis that reflects the benefit which costs approximately $485 to lease the unit. [6]

My restaurant is GREEN, what does that mean?

There are a number of ways to let your customers know you’re green. Greenopia USA (www.greenopia.com/usa) is a website that provides consumers with high quality information to help them reduce their impact on the environment through their daily purchasing decisions. Greenopia publishes extensive green business directories, product directories, and brand directories, as well as offering a growing community, news articles, blogs, and tips to help everyone eat, shop, and live green. A restaurant is denoted as “green” with a sticker on the window. Restaurants are rated on the basis of the products used, recycling, etc. While consumers see the sticker on the window as they enter or exit, they don’t quite know what the restaurant is doing.
In order to encourage more restaurants to recycle their oil, SLM suggests a simple communication campaign titled “We’re Green – Ask Us How” This campaign is different from others in that it will engage the consumers to ask what the restaurant is doing to be green, what exactly that means, and how they’re contributing. As a result, management and staff will need to be engaged in promoting the “greenness of the restaurant.”  Feel free to ask SLM how.

The communication campaign can include:

• “We’re Green – Ask Us How” – sticker on the window to capture consumers upon entering
• The staff can wear “We’re Green – Ask Us How” buttons to engage consumers to ask questions
• “We’re Green – Ask Us How” can be placed pre-printed or placed on the menu as a sticker. To take it a step further, an asterisk can be placed alongside the items cooked in cooking oil on the menu and referred to at the bottom: “We’re Green – Ask Us How” logo stating “this item will help contribute to the production of biodiesel fuel thereby reducing harmful emissions by 70%”
• “We’re Green – Ask Us How” table tents can feature high profit items for the restaurant cooked in cooking oil. This provides an alternative way for restaurants to promote higher fat and higher profit items in a different, “greener” light while educating the consumers about what they’re doing to be green.

The few key facts to highlight for the consumer and the staff would be:

• Did you know that biodiesel emissions are 90% less harmful than regular fuel emissions?
• Did you know that used cooking oil can be relatively easily converted to biodiesel fuel at the same quantity yields, so one gallon of used cooking oil will yield one gallon of biodiesel fuel?
• Did you know biodiesel fuel creates more jobs more Americans because it’s locally produced?
• Did you know you can easily convert your engine into biodiesel fuel engine?

This communication campaign can also be promoted through a dedicated website with links to the references listed in this article as well as Facebook, Twitter, etc. By arming the staff and management with a few facts and taking the communication campaign up a notch while promoting sales, restaurants can significantly contribute to helping the environment.

[1]  Source: http://www.scbiomass.org/Publications/An%20Assessment%20of%20Restaurant%20Oil%20and%20Grease%20Rendering%20-%20SEBSRP%20DRAFT.pdf.
[2]  Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Waste-Oil-Disposal-For-Restaurants&id=2860317
[3]  Source: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/51482
[4]  Source: http://www.tristatebiodiesel.com/basics.htm
[5]  Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Waste-Oil-Disposal-For-Restaurants&id=2860317
[6]  Source: http://www.vegawatt.com/about-Vegawatt/