As Oil Prices Soar, Restaurant Grease Thefts Rise

The bandit pulled his truck to the back of a Burger King in Northern California one afternoon last month armed with a hose and a tank. After rummaging around assorted restaurant rubbish, he dunked a tube into a smelly storage bin and, the police said, vacuumed out about 300 gallons of grease.

The man was caught before he could slip away. In his truck, the police found 2,500 gallons of used fryer grease, indicating that the Burger King had not been his first fast-food craving of the day.

Outside Seattle, cooking oil rustling has become such a problem that the owners of the Olympia Pizza and Pasta Restaurant in Arlington, Wash., are considering using a surveillance camera to keep watch on its 50-gallon grease barrel. Nick Damianidis, an owner, said the barrel had been hit seven or eight times since last summer by siphoners who strike in the night.

"Fryer grease has become gold," Mr. Damianidis said. "And just over a year ago, I had to pay someone to take it away."

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[HippyGourmet]

Here's a segment on a great company called VegRev.com that convert diesel cars and trucks to run on used vegetable oil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QkbOtvBuHI

If you like this segment, please subscribe for free to our www.YouTube.com/HippyGourmet channel, or visit us at www.HippyGourmet.com

[Wiredwilly]

BOYCOTT EXXON / BP
Target $ 2.50 / gallon Premium

[studlyguy]

I have a feeling the oil companies will start thinking twice with exploiting the peak oil ,their not even doing that it's comments from a certain blogger,the oil companies aren't cause they know this is all about GREED,not peak oil,as KTM handle comments ,I read the reply to one of my comments yu made ,and I had it backwards with what you are, I said you we're a oil company employee or dividend shareholder,you are in the other end wind and solar industry dividend side of this now I know why you're trying to push this peak oil myth, now I see why you are trying to spread so hard this peak oil,I read a article a long time ago that had all the facts that peak oil was NOT TRUE,,but that was a year ago,so you trying to push your green companies,now it makes sense,if the oil companies are smart they'll get over their GREED mentality before the green industry takes hold but that will take decades if at all,and in the long run oil companies will have been their own worst enemy cause their looking short term not long term by screwing the world with their GREED and MANIPULATION,these high oil prices will start violent protest eventually even in America as is already happening in europe.

[KillTheMessenger]

Studlyguy, it really makes no difference what you believe. The fact of how much oil is in the ground was decided millions of years ago by geology. We do not have a time machine to go back and put more in there. If the worlds has peaked, and from all the data I have seen I can only conclude that it pretty much has, the party is over. You can twist and shout and get angry that they are cleaning up the tables, but that won't make any difference. The booze is gone. It's time to get sober.

[Missmn]

You cannot steal trash. Once someone throws something away, it's not theirs anymore. You can't "store" grease next to the other trash. If you want to keep it, then you need to keep it inside with your other valuables.

[KillTheMessenger]

It's not trash if its on your own premises. If I remember the law correctly, a citizen can shoot anyone who enters without permission. I would look for an NRA membership plaque before I try to steal grease from someones property around here. They might just pump you full with lead and then walk away as law abiding citizens.

[Dap]

Peace *NOT* Apartheid,

Shame on the Israeli war mongers.

Israel deny Children Hope.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/30/us-withdraws-gaza-fulbrig_n_104292.html

Exactly, President Carter's point.

[danoj]

What? are you on drugs?

[KillTheMessenger]

If you are stealing grease for a living you are primarily two things:

1) You are a thief.

2) You are stupid. If you take the risk of going in the slammer for years, at least steal something small and valuable. Like diamonds.

[Raymondf]

All companies, and I mean all should go to 4-10hr days. Just think that would be one day a week you wouldn't have to buy gas. The companies would save on energy costs also, no lights burning, little or no heat or air conditioning, save on day care bills. Then if you take one more day and not buy gas the prices would have to come down. If all companies would do this think what a change we could have. Of course jobs like TV, Radio, could not partisipate. I know our schools where I live are going to 4days schooling next year. They are cutting their football schedules to 8 games instead of 10 cutting basket ball from 20 games to 15 games, baseball from 20 to 10. They are in the process now of scheduling 5 home games in football, 10 home games in basketball, 6 home games in baseball. It can work if we all try real hard.

[KillTheMessenger]

The problem with that argument is that the Chinese and Indians are working their employees 10 hours a day for SIX days a week, at less than half the salary.

Having said that, the difference in performance between a car that consumes 20% less than their current car would be almost imperceivable to most drivers. And a week after the switch from your old car to a hybrid with a large fuel efficiency display like the Prius you ask yourself how you could ever live without it and how you could ever have been such a moron to drive 80mph instead of 55mph.

All the things you mention are actionism. They don't address the problem (waste) and they will all have unintended consequences that will most likely largely negate the upside.

[danoj]

problem is 8 years ago we said lets drill in alaska and off the continental shelf and build some refineries. Dems said no we won't see any gains for next 8-10 years if we do that. Problem is 5 years before that we said lets drill in alaska and off the continental shelf and build some new refineries. Dems said no we won't see any gains from that fo at least 8-10 years.

So what do we do now, hey I know lets get some oil from alaska or drill off the continental shelf and build some new refineries. Oh wait the Dems already said no; It won't produce anything for at least 8-10 years. We should instead explore alternative energy that won't produce anything for 20 years and be beholden to OPEC and blame oil compainies instead. Wake up people this is Congresses mess and they just keep kicking it down the road.

[EddieMcWords]

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=f900f09ec1ab15053b90d5b701400a2a

[wedgie]

Too bad were too stupid to set up a significant distribution system for used cooking oil.

**

[BLinCincinnati]

There is already a significant distribution system in place. I used to work for Griffin Industries as an engineer. I did the design work on their first biodiesel plant here in Butler, KY. They had a very complex system across the country for gathering the oil. Go look in the back of any Burger King, McDonalds, etc and you'll see the oil tanks. Either Griffin's or Darling's most likely. They've actually created newer tanks that are stored inside. They can pump the oil from the fryers directly into the tank. It's completely air tight so no smells. Also by pumping from the fryer to the tank, it reduces the clean up time and chances someone will get burned. The tank then has a line going through the wall to the outside where it has a locked cap. The system is out there. But people still steal the stuff, just like they still rob banks.

[cnobody]

some people have already figured it out. if i only had a garage and didn't live in a big city, i'd get a greasecar, no doubt about it.

[Chavez08]

Too bad we Americans are too cowardly and/or lazy to flex our muscle..

"Fuel protests triggered by rising oil prices have spread to more countries across Europe, with thousands of fishermen on strike... "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7426971.stm