Pickin up my VW Grease car totay }:o)

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Hi Sharkey and friends

Today I take one more step closer to free livin. I bought a 1989 VW Jetta with a 1992 ecodesiel set up for WVO. It's in great shape, It's gonna be great to be driving for free

[Mark R. Obtinario]

In our local paper today (www.tdn.com) there was an article about the Burgerville chain setting up their restaurants with an easily accessible way to pump out their WVO.

They no longer are going to have to pay to dispose of their WVO. And if I read the article correctly, the company that is going to be picking up their WVO will be able to pump out at any time 24/7.

If things work out, instead of paying to get rid of their WVO they just might be able to create a new profit center for their restaurants.

Which leads me to believe the free WVO so many people have depended upon will soon be a thing of the past to for which we will remember fondly. Fond remembrances like diesel for less than fifteen cents a gallon.

I am glad I didn't spend the time and $$$ to convert one of my buses to WVO. At the rate it is going I would never have paid off the conversion.

Mark O.

[Sharkey]

I think you are going to see the reality of WVO change quite a lot in the near future. While in the past it was considered a waste product, the demand for Biodiesel is picking up and the traditional markets for grease are still there, eventually placing a strain on the supply

An entirely new concept in cooking oil/grease management is in the making. Restaurants may soon be leasing oil instead of buying it. The leasing company delivers the fresh oil, the restaurant uses it, then places the used oil in a bin to be collected. The restaurant pays a base price for the delivery and use of the oil, plus a per-gallon charge for any oil that is delivered but not collected. Under this system, the restaurants will be charged for any oil that WVO users remove from the bin, so it's likely that they will be tightly controlled, and probably locked tight.

Even under the current plan, waste grease is worth about $0.60 to $1.20 a gallon, delivered to a processing plant (Biodiesel or other). Once the greae hits the collection bin, it is actually property of the collector, so while prosecution for taking it is rare, it is removal of other's property.

Big chains are already waking up to the profit potential of selling waste grease, so a 'self-serve' WVO spigot at each location is unlikely to evolve beyond concept.

[yesplease]

I've been thinking about this likely change in the market, especially in light of CA's move to require a $175 license/vehicle fee for W/VO transportation, and I still think it's a viable fuel source for the private individuals. With the license, businesses are much more likely to give/sell their waste oil to you, and as long as you can offer more per gallon than the rendering/biodiesel co's, you should be able to pull in fuel at 20-60% of current diesel prices. There is no way a biodiesel plant could offer more per gallon because they have the transport/process/tax overhead on this fuel, while all the little gal/guy needs to do is collect/filter/use. Until we have diesels designed to run on VO there should always be W/VO at below market prices. If collectives are formed, even the price of the permit could be minimized, with a few people dedicated to completely legal collection. The requirements for W/VO in this state will imo facilitate the formation of collectives, which stand a good chance of pushing the rendering co's/biodiesel producers out of the market. The only thing I can think of that could really push the small guy out of the picture are large enough government business subsidies.