Turning Grease into Fuel (Rep. Vito Fossella)

Believe it or not, that old frying oil used to cook French fries and fried calamari at your local restaurant can also be turned into a safe, non-toxic, biodegradable and renewable source of fuel to power diesel trucks and machinery.

That’s why I stopped by Jody’s Club Forest in Staten Island, NY and the Yellow Hook Grille in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, recently to discuss my support of legislation to double the tax credit for making biodiesel fuel from recycled restaurant grease from $.50/gallon to $1.00/gallon. This bill, authored by Congressman Burgess (R-Texas), would help reduce the United States’ consumption of foreign oil by encouraging the production of an environmentally-sound domestic fuel that can directly replace petroleum products.

While this sounds like pie-in-the-sky technology, the fact is that the New York City Parks Department is already using biodiesel to power its 650 diesel-operated vehicles and equipment. Biodiesel is a clean, affordable, environmentally-friendly and American-made alternative to foreign petroleum. It offers consumers a premium diesel fuel that protects our health, economy and security. And biodiesel allows us to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and also slash emissions of harmful pollutants that cause global warming, acid rain, smog and ozone.