Food-to-Fuel Biodiesel Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

The Boulder County Commissioners have set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2010. One of the ways of meeting this goal has been to use 20 percent biodiesel in the county’s diesel vehicles. This renewable energy source has the ability to reduce GHG emissions by more than 50 percent, but new research has demonstrated that the use of biodiesel made from used waste oil reduces the GHG emissions by 86 percent. In light of these facts, Boulder County has switched from a biodiesel manufactured from virgin soy oil to one made from 100 percent local waste oil. The used cooking oil is collected by a local company. The ability to use this waste cooking oil reframes the debate of “food versus fuel” to “food-to-fuel.” The waste oil collected from local eateries is converted into biodiesel for county vehicles. In addition to using a local waste stream for fuel, the byproduct of the biodiesel production, glycerol, is turned into a biodegradable cleaning agent that is used in the restaurants where the waste oil is collected. The use of this cleaning product helps to close another loop in this fuels system. By using local waste to make local fuel used in county vehicles to reduce GHG emissions, Boulder County is developing a local fuel source and reducing its dependence on foreign oil. Since July of 2010, the county has used 1,500 gallons of 100 percent biodiesel made from local waste oil and removed 210,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from GHG emissions.