Bio Diesel and Franchises
Bio Fuels are making more and more headlines and this is leaving some to wonder just what is bio diesel? Images of people dumping their household vegetable oil in their gas tank comes to mind, but that’s is not even close to the case. Here, we’ll take a look at the advantages and disadvantages, as well as help some to better understand just why more and more businesses and franchises feel the need to latch on to this more sustainable fuel source.
Firstly, bio diesel is a diesel like fuel derived predominately from soybean or other vegetable oils, and sometimes animal fats. However, where most are finding that they can obtain their oils to transition to bio diesel is a stunner- making it from restaurant wastes by recycling the grease used in frying the food. One franchise in particular has made a name for itself in this- the Filta group has long been offering not only a service that prolongs the oil used in most restaurants, but also offering alternatives in waste oil disposal that are turning heads towards bio diesel in a big way. In offering this service, Filtafry technicians are changing the way that food service industry professionals are looking at their cooking oil. Where before, it seemed more budget conscious to simply train someone to clean the fryers, many are now realizing that it is simply more cost effective to hire outside help. Also, this has the added benefit of an environmentally way to bring about a better balance in cost verses profit.
“The price of cooking oil, as a commodity, has sky-rocketed in the last year and the need for efficient operations has never been greater,” says Victor Clewes, CEO of The Filta Group, an international Eco-friendly services company which specializes in cooking oil filtration and recycling. “Filtering and re-using cooking oil reduces oil purchases. Reduced oil purchases result in cost and waste savings. Then, when the oil can no longer be used for cooking, it becomes bio-fuel. Nothing is wasted. It’s used in the food we eat, then in the cars we drive. It becomes a net positive for the environment as well as a restaurant’s bottom line.”
The formula is rather simple, the life of the oil goes in stages- cooked with new, again after filtering, and then, once it has reached the end of its lifecycle, it is collected and used in the process of making valuable and Eco friendly biodiesel. Chef Miles Kline runs the T Rex BBQ in Berkley, CA, and he, too has made the change. “The price was so low, recycling didn’t matter,” Kline says of his thoughts on the transition, initially. He switched to more expensive peanut oil to accommodate the oil filtering company and was surprised to realize a noticeable cost savings. “We pay $90, $95 a week and started saving instantly,” mostly because the filtering system enables the operation to use 40% less oil. Afterward, the restaurant proudly notes that the oil is recycled into fuel. The decision to recycle oil was “both economical and environmental” Kline says.
