Nov 20, 2007 10:47 pm US/Pacific
SF To Recycle Restaurant Grease Into Biofuel
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
Mayor Gavin Newsom encouraged San Francisco restaurants Tuesday to hand over unused cooking grease so the city can use it as fuel.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission program, SFGreasecycle, will collect fat, oil, and grease from the city's restaurants free of charge.
The city says it will convert the grease into biofuel for its 1,600 buses and other vehicles and will reportedly save an estimated $3.5 million each year in sewage repairs.
"We're taking a serious city problem and using the best available technology to save our ratepayers' money and do something good for the environment," said Susan Leal, public utilities general manager.
Newsom issued a 2006 executive order requiring all of the city's vehicles to be running on biofuels by December 2007.
Once converted, city vehicles will first run on biofuel purchased through an existing city contract and then switch to fuel converted from restaurant grease waste, which should generate 1.5 million gallons of biofuel annually.
The first grease pickup was made today at Puccini and Pinetti, an Italian restaurant in Union Square. Nearly 60 restaurants have signed on to participate in the program and more are expressing interest, according to public utilities officials.
Those who want to drop off grease from holiday cooking waste this Thanksgiving Day weekend can bring cooking oil to the Costco Warehouse at 450 10th St. in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood.
Drop-offs can be made Nov. 23 to 26 during the store's normal hours from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 am. to 6 p.m. Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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