From Fry Pan to Fuel Tank: St. Cloud Pilot Project Aims to Repurpose Cooking Oil
03/04/2024 (KNSI) - A pioneering pilot project launches today in St. Cloud that will turn used cooking oil into green energy.
Residents can drop off fats, grease, and oil at city hall, the public works facility, the wastewater treatment facility, or the city compost site. Unlike with compost, a permit is not needed if dropping off there.
They must be delivered in disposable containers with a lid or other means of sealing the openings. Shatterproof containers are recommended.
The recycling program gives residents a sustainable way to dispose of used cooking oils and grease besides the landfills or sewers, which city officials say causes blockages and backups as the materials cool and solidify in pipes. Through the recycling program, fats and oils will instead be recovered and used in the wastewater treatment facility’s digesters to produce renewable biogas. That is then used in the biofuel generators to power the facility.