Local Company Enhances Capacity to Capture Used Cooking Oil

With assistance of more than $148,000 from the Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund, Eco Oil Limited of Conception Bay South will help expand its used cooking oil collection operation and contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions in the province. The company has been collecting waste cooking oil since 2005 and transporting it to a recycling facility in Nova Scotia where it is used as an additive for animal feed and biodiesel.

�Eco Oil�s expansion will help them offset an estimated 8,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2011, thereby representing a significant positive environmental impact,� said the Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Environment and Conservation. �We realize that a large portion of this used oil is finding its way into our landfills, given it is not collected by established waste management companies in the province. This initiative will certainly help mitigate the disposal of liquid waste at these sites.�

Waste cooking oil is a by-product of food preparation, not only in restaurants, but also hotel/motel dining rooms, corporate kitchens such as workplace cafeterias, post-secondary institutions, hospitals, long-term care facilities and correctional facilities. There is no value in waste cooking oil in its raw form but, in refined form, it is an ingredient in animal feed production and biodiesel manufacturing. It is estimated that approximately 1,700 tonnes of waste cooking oil is produced in Newfoundland and Labrador each year.

Eco Oil Limited will augment their existing operation with the purchase of a biodiesel truck conversion kit, storage tanks, centrifuge and other handling and collection equipment. The company also plans to increase its collection route in the metro St. John�s area, and as far west as Clarenville, including the Bonavista and Burin peninsulas.

�The enhancements outlined by Eco Oil Limited have the potential to divert a large amount of waste from landfills, and makes good environmental sense,� said Terry French, MHA for Conception Bay South. �I am delighted that this local business will receive support to help decrease the quantity of waste oil going to these sites, as well as decrease our contributions to greenhouse gases.�

�My company�s vision is to assist the restaurant and food service business in reducing their impact on the environment,� said Des Walsh, President of Eco Oil Limited. �Our expansion project will not only achieve this goal, but will also enable the industry to access increased infrastructure and capacity to help the Provincial Government with its waste diversion and recycling initiatives.�

Eco Oil Limited is a Newfoundland and Labrador company located in Manuels, Conception Bay South. The company began its operations in 2005 with only four clients, and has grown to almost 80 accounts in the food service industry.

Funding for the project comes from the Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund, a three-year, $25 million program which is supported by both the federal and provincial governments. This funding is to support projects geared toward environmental sustainability and provide real reductions in GHG emissions.

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2009 10 30                                                  10:35 a.m.