From Cooking Oil to Biodiesel

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

A major contribution of sanitary sewer overflow is caused by cooking oil and grease clogging the sewer lines and pump stations, which causes sewage backups into homes, offices, and surface waters through the county. This is not only an economical issue that requires quick response and clean up, but also an environmental issue as well. Nationwide, statistics indicate that 40 percent of all SSOs are attributed to fat, oil, or grease. Food Service Establishments such as restaurants, food courts, cafeterias, and food processing plants, are a major source of fat, oil, and grease. However, most establishments are regulated and must have a pretreatment device installed to remove any fat, oil, or grease from the wastewater stream prior to discharge. Households, on the other hand, are nearly impossible to regulate and are exempted from regulations with just a couple exceptions that do not apply to oil and grease. El Pasco County’s innovative program is not meant to prevent these sewage backups and overflows due to the presence and buildup of FOG, but also to utilize the main culprit, cooking oil and grease, derived from households, as a resource by collecting and converting it to biodiesel fuel. This alternative fuel is then used as a product to power County vehicles and equipment. The County has reached out to its citizens to pick up their recycled oil.