Cooking Oil

Are Thieves Driving Up Biofuel Prices?

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For years, restaurants had to pay to have their used cooking oil hauled away. But with the demand for biofuel rising, contractors are offering eateries big bucks for their oil, which can be cheaply converted into alternative fuel.

The problem? Thieves are siphoning valuable oil off before paying contractors can get to it, an issue explored in an investigative piece published on Saturday by The New York Times.

Fryer oil now commands around 40 cents per pound – about four times what it sold for 10 years ago, according to the article. The now-valuable commodity is typically stored in back-alley Dumpsters – … read more