Monday, February 09, 2009

Turning Cooking Oil Into Fuel for the County

Westchester County officials see excess cooking oil from the county’s 3,500 restaurants as a means of cleaner, cheaper fuel. The county has begun a program where it uses the excess oil taken from local restaurants as an alternative energy source. There are seven vehicles that run only on fuel made from cooking oil and 125 vehicles that run on a mix of cooking oil and diesel fuel. The program is part of the county’s continuing effort to cut costs while reducing emissions that harm the environment. The county’s executiveAndrew J. Spano, reported that the county could save about $25,000 in diesel fuel costs for every 10,000 gallons of cooking oil collected. Restaurant owners would also benefit from this program. They would normally have to pay to disposal services to remove the frying oil that cannot be reused. One of the county's officials reported that it can cost up to $22 to remove five gallons of oil, and since the ban of trans fats, restaurants have been using healthier oils and must change the oil in their fryers more often.
The success of the yearlong experiment of mixing vegetable oil with the diesel to fuel vehicles allows room to expand the effort to 350 more vehicles. The county has been collecting its vegetable oil from different facilities, including county-owned concessionaires and homeless shelters. Although the program seems promising county officials said it was unclear how many businesses ultimately would participate and how much oil could be collected.
Overall everyone would benefit from this program but most importantly the benefits of running vehicles on fuel that costs less and is cleaner is priceless for the environment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/nyregion/westchester/08greasewe.html?ref=science

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