ARLINGTON WASH. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Nick Damianidis, whose family has owned Olympia Pizza & Pasta here for 31 years, said, “Fryer grease has become as good as gold.” —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Over the past year and a half, Damianidis said, his waste barrels for grease have been stolen seven or eight times. While no nationwide statistics are available, at least 20 states have reported thefts of used grease. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
“The thefts started more than a year and a half ago when I switched from my old company to a biodiesel company,” he said. “My 50-gallon barrel was getting stolen quite a bit. Whoever was stealing it knew exactly when to do it. I’d come up to work and the barrel, which was blue, was gone and replaced with a real bad black one. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
“People were stealing the whole barrel, grease and everything. I used to have to pay to have it picked up.” —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Damianidis said the new company—when the grease is not stolen—pays 10 cents a gallon for the used oil and saves Olympia Pizza about $240 a year. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
While it does not provide large revenue streams yet, used grease can help the bottom line, experts said while pointing out that a typical fast-food restaurant can produce 150 to 200 gallons of used oil per week. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Jay Goldstein, owner of Advance Foodservice Consulting of Allen, Texas, said, “For years restaurants have paid to have their used grease hauled away, and now they have the opportunity to sell the grease. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
“When looking for ways to offset increasing operating costs, this provides a solution from both angles. It eliminates an expense and provides some income. As any restaurateur knows, every little bit helps, and this is very easy to do.” —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Used fryer oil, which is traded on the commodities markets as “yellow grease,” has increased in price along with crude oil. In 2000, yellow grease traded for 7.6 cents per pound. As of June 5, it was trading for 33.5 cents to 34 cents a pound, more than quadrupling in price this decade. That’s about $2.50 a gallon. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
The idea of using vegetable oil for fuel has been around as long as the diesel engine. The U.S. Department of Energy said Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, experimented with fuels ranging from powdered coal to peanut oil. In the early 20th century, however, diesel engines were adapted to burn petroleum distillate, which was cheap and plentiful. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Now, with crude-oil prices exceeding $130 a barrel, vegetable oils have become a hot commodity. Several waste-services companies now offer used-oil storage systems and pick-up services. The companies allow restaurants to pump oil from fryers directly to insulated tanks rather than having employees manually carry the oil outside to a bulk storage container that can be placed inside the unit or outside in a secured area. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Jon A. Jaworski, a lawyer in Houston who successfully has represented a number of individuals accused of grease thefts, said large companies are pushing out small individuals who used to pick up the grease and cart it away. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
“Grease, when it’s put out in the trash area, is considered trash,” Jaworski said, “and the containers they put it in look like trash containers.” He successfully represented clients by convincing juries that the grease was “abandoned property.” —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
With prices rising, larger companies have entered the reclamation business, Jaworski said. He warned restaurateurs: “Don’t be intimidated by large companies, because a lot of them will try to put pressure on you.” —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Because biodiesel can be made from discarded cooking oil and alcohol, conversion kits are being sold on the Internet. That leads to some small-time grease bandits as well. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
San Francisco has created its own grease recycling program. SF-Greasecycle, run by the city’s Public Utilities Commission, collects used vegetable oil from restaurants at no charge and recycles it into biodiesel for use in the city fleet. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
Damianidis of Olympic Pizza said the company that picks up his oil has considered installing security cameras to monitor their barrels. But that probably won’t happen until the price of the used grease reaches a level to make the cameras cost-effective, he said. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
In the meantime, he finds the grease burglars to be getting bolder and more thuggish. —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
“The biodiesel company left me two barrels a while back,” Damianidis said, “and the grease thieves took one barrel and crushed the other one.” —As prices paid for used grease and cooking oil rise along with their reuse for lucrative biofuels, restaurants are being victimized increasingly by thefts of what once were waste products they had to pay to have hauled away. And as the price of oil continues to skyrocket, food-service operators and consultants expect more heists by fry crooks.
