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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 08 December 2008 |
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Every single one of us who tries to produce biodiesel will need a feedstock, PERIOD. It dosen't matter if your feedstock is new virgin oil, waste vegetable oil, or animal fat, you must have something to turn into biodiesel. For most of us waste oil is the answer because it is free or cheap and is available anywhere food is.
Waste oil can be found behind most restaurants and if you ask you may be surprised what you find out. A couple of years ago before diesel shot up past $3 the waste oil was trash and the restaurants paid a waste handler to haul it away and deal with it. Now however the waste oil has become quite a commodity with renderers paying restaurants up to $.30 per lb for what once considered trash.
You may be extremely lucky and find a restaurant who still pays to have the oil hauled off. If you are that lucky then you should very nicely and respectfully make friends with the restaurant owner. When you approach the owner ask him what his establishment does with their waste oil. Be very reserved when he answers and act like it is not that big of a deal even through it is if you are planning to make your own fuel. Tell the owner what you will do with it and invite him to see the process. If the answer is that he pays to have it hauled away then slowly bring up if he would be interested in your taking it away for free. Do not act like a dog about to get to treat and be overly excited because the owner may come back with the offer that you can buy the oil. If the owner is interested then draft up a simple contract that includes everything that could be of question. For example, when will you pick up, what kind of containers will your provide, will you pressure wash around your containers, who is responsible for spills, and what about termination.
If you get the contract be sure to stop in and eat lunch in the establishment every once in a while.
You may be wondering why you need a contract with restaurant, why can't you just arrange to pick it up and call it a day. You need a contract because if you ever had an issue with the restaurant or a third party then there needs to be a concrete framework for how the problem will be dealt with. For example, if somebody was stealing your oil and you caught them, without a contract it wasn't yours to begin with.
If you can't find a restaurant that doesn't already sell their oil then you should be prepared to purchase the oil. This is where explaining to the owner what you are doing and inviting him to take part will play a huge advantage because he may be willing to give you a good deal on what you need. He is also much more likely to sell you the oil, or in the best case give it to you. The normally lousy service of the renderers play into your hands here.
Good luck in your oil hunt!
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 December 2008 )
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