I’m not detail minded enough to make my own Biodiesel for my old Mercedes Diesel. I occasionally have dreams about driving for free and going around siphoning WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil) from the waste tanks at the local fast food restaurants. But then I remember how I had to buy three little screws for the oil pan on my Benz and how those three little screws costs over 10 dollars and I extrapolate that out to how much a new injection pump would cost when I make a mistake and I head on over to DFW Biodiesel and feel confident that my 300D will live another day.
But if you are more competent than me and are planning on gathering up used fryer grease to run your diesel off of make sure that you get permission before you harvest the sludge.
The Mercury News writes about a man in Morgan Hill California who is was arrested for stealing 300 gallons of grease from a Burger King. My first reaction to this is that we had another case of a big corporation bullying some poor environmentally friendly citizen who was just trying to get some WVO for personal use…I mean, sure they should have asked but arrest is a bit harsh. But as it turns out the man worked for a Las Vegas company, Restaurant Oils of America, and was not even licensed to operate in the state. The driver was harvesting the WVO to resell to a company in Atascadero for $1.35 a gallon.
It’s interesting to note that most restaurants, including the “victim” here pay someone to haul off their waste grease; so if you are just polite enough to ask most establishments will allow you to take all you want without being arrested or anything.
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Yeah, stealing oil doesn’t help anyone in the vegetable oil fuel community. Best practices include complete honesty and educating the restaurant and the public about the benefits of WVO fuels. For more information view http://www.fillup4free.com