In the July issue of Car & Driver, a reader takes the editor to task for not mentioning in a story on new diesels the cars’ ability to run non-petroleum fuels. Specifically, the reader talks up used fryer grease. So-called “grease cars” seem to get media attention wherever they go, and this company is one of several that offers conversion kits for diesel cars. Sounds like a solid idea, but where to get the fuel?
In “grease car” stories I’ve read or seen on TV, the owner usually says he or she can get grease from the local McDonalds, Burger King or diner. And indeed, most do just that. But that just might make you a “grease bandit” in some locales. Sure, you can say you’re just helping the environment, but that might be a slippery slope, legally speaking.
I hadn’t heard about the “grease bandit” issue but the restaurants who supply my greasecar would throw away their grease if I didn’t take it. I suspect it’s a quantity issue – they produce maybe 10 or 20 gallons a week, which is plenty for me but probably wouldn’t interest someone who was sucking up grease into a tanker truck and paying out $1.35 per gallon. (And for anyone who’s curious, I believe most of that “yellow gold” is converted into animal feed, which kinda grosses me out although I guess it’s good that it is being reused.)
The scarier story I’ve heard (although I don’t worry about it much) is folks being charged for not paying fuel tax on the grease they use in their cars. I think it has only occurred in a few cities and somewhat randomly but it’s a pretty wild story. http://www.neatorama.com/2008/05/06/
california-veggie-oil-powered-grease-car-owners-are-scofflaws/
Maybe we’ll see an infrastructure develop to collect, refine and supply the grease as a fuel — and maybe it should be no tax or low tax to spur usage. I wish all those old diesel VW’s and Mercedes-Benz models would switch to grease so it would smell a little better when driving behind them! I think wide acceptance might require polishing the image a bit — even the term “grease car” sounds a bit negative to most folks.