Spring Break
Recycled oil helps the environment and the economy
Jason M. Wallace
Issue date: 1/13/09 Section: Opinion
Along with the demand for cleaner emissions, there is a simple solution to the woes surrounding the problems of fuel consumption. Watching an episode of the TV series Myth Busters, I learned that used vegetable oil could be used to power diesel motors. Biodiesel as a fuel alternative is very available and should be tapped by more diesel motor owners.
Used vegetable oil can be found anywhere. Every fast food restaurant that uses a fryer has waste oil as a byproduct. Disposing of the oil costs the restaurant a fee, but someone looking to reuse the oil can create a win-win situation for both parties.
The filters, containers and kits to adapt diesel motors for biodiesel have their expenses, but in the long run, using biodiesel may prove to be more cost effective than running to the gas station. The process to make fuel out of used vegetable oil isn't a totally free process, but it would be more beneficial to the economy than what we're doing now.
Let's say a conglomerate owns a chain of fast food restaurants and a shipping company. The shipping trucks have diesel motors and the restaurants produce waste oil. The restaurants could send oil to be used for transportation instead of paying for it to be disposed. The conglomerate could open a plant to filter the oil and the processed vegetable oil would cut fuel costs of the shipping company. In the end, money is saved and jobs are made, which is just what this country needs right now.
What could this mean for a nationwide transition? Who knows how much vegetable oil is just thrown away every year from all of the fast food restaurants and potato chip plants?
We should take advantage of this available resource. Obviously, there will be a constant supply as long as we support fast food. This source of oil could provide relief for countless businesses in America, proving that converting used vegetable oil into a form of fuel would be very helpful to our economy as well as our environment.
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
Used vegetable oil can be found anywhere. Every fast food restaurant that uses a fryer has waste oil as a byproduct. Disposing of the oil costs the restaurant a fee, but someone looking to reuse the oil can create a win-win situation for both parties.
The filters, containers and kits to adapt diesel motors for biodiesel have their expenses, but in the long run, using biodiesel may prove to be more cost effective than running to the gas station. The process to make fuel out of used vegetable oil isn't a totally free process, but it would be more beneficial to the economy than what we're doing now.
Let's say a conglomerate owns a chain of fast food restaurants and a shipping company. The shipping trucks have diesel motors and the restaurants produce waste oil. The restaurants could send oil to be used for transportation instead of paying for it to be disposed. The conglomerate could open a plant to filter the oil and the processed vegetable oil would cut fuel costs of the shipping company. In the end, money is saved and jobs are made, which is just what this country needs right now.
What could this mean for a nationwide transition? Who knows how much vegetable oil is just thrown away every year from all of the fast food restaurants and potato chip plants?
We should take advantage of this available resource. Obviously, there will be a constant supply as long as we support fast food. This source of oil could provide relief for countless businesses in America, proving that converting used vegetable oil into a form of fuel would be very helpful to our economy as well as our environment.
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
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