We all love our fried foods. In fact, while I sit here writing this, I am already daydreaming of a piece of fried chicken. However, it is what happens with the leftover grease that can be an inspiring story. The biofuels industry and the food industry are finding ways to reduce food waste.
Audio: World of Agriculture
The grease leftover from frying foods can be a burden to dispose of. It can be put into landfills or simply poured down the drain. However, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is working to help curtail these forms of disposal by recycling the grease into biodiesel.
The concept of recycling the leftover frying grease into fuel is not a new one, but what should be mentioned is the advantages of the program for its environmental and economic benefits.
To date, the reclamation of fryer grease into biofuels has prevented more than two billion pounds of leftover cooking oils from being sent to landfills. This makes leftover cooking oils the second-largest contributor to the biodiesel production. Before there was a biodiesel program, many restaurants had to pay to have their leftover grease taken away. Now, they can get picked up free of charge. This is a help to their bottom line as well.
NBB?s Don Scott says, ?Biodiesel has been reducing food waste for two decades, and we are only just beginning.? This paints a rosy prospect for food waste reduction into the future.
