In the last ten years, driven by increased fuel costs and environmentally-based green initiatives, the United States has increased the production of vegetable oil as part of biodiesel and other green recycling programs. One source of this vegetable oil is “waste vegetable oil” which is reclaimed from the food production and food service industries. There is a lot of support of this WVO recycling program on both a state and federal level, and as such it’s become profitable for restaurants to store and sell their used oil instead of simply throwing it away.
Boosting Restaurant Earnings Through VWO Sales
It’s the desire of every business owner to recoup any expenditures. Disposing of used cooking oil from fryers is a manpower-intensive task, and improperly dealing with it can lead to overflowing grease traps or damage to city infrastructure and fines. By using specialists (often the same who service your grease trap), you can not only make the process easier and more environmentally friendly but get paid to do it.
Supply Chain: Where Your WVO Goes
So, what happens to your oil once you sell it? Let’s look at the supply chain:
- Your Restaurant Uses and Stores the Oil: Once signing on with a VWO service provider, it’s important to meet their standards. Proper filtering of the oil is only one part. It’s also vital you secure your VWO on premise, as VWO theft is more common than you think. Most services can provide you with a locking VWO container.
- Your Food Grease Service Collects the Oil: Your contracted VWO service company schedules pickup times, depending on the amount of grease generated.
- They Sell It to a VWO Recycler: In its current form, the VWO isn’t up to standard. The oil needs to be filtered to remove all those specks of fried food, water, and other fluids. Once they are done, they sell the oil to companies to make products: mostly biodiesel, but it also can be used in cosmetics, soaps, and livestock feed.
Making Sure Your VWO Is Being Recycled and Used Locally
While being able to earn money by selling your used vegetable oil is a victory all itself, it’s also great to know your oil is being recycled and used in green initiatives. When you’re looking for a haul for your VWO, it’s important to know what they do with it and properly vet them. In our blog There’s a Reason Grease Dumping is Illegal, we talk about how some of those doing the dumping are pretending to be grease removal service and just dumping the oil directly into the sewer, where it causes damage to the treatment plants and the environment. When looking for a VWO service provider, find out what they do with it and where it goes.
At Food Grease Trappers, we provide competitive offers for your used Waste Vegetable Oil. Our WVO program is run with honesty and integrity and is only sold to companies who work to better the local community and our environment. As grease trap service providers, we also offer special programs to combine VWO with grease trap service. Sound good? Contact us today.
