Do like Homer Simpson: How to recycle grease and save the planet

In a 1998 episode of The Simpsons, "Lard of the Dance," Homer tries yet another get-rich-quick scheme: Grease recycling. After learning that rendering plants pay cash for grease, Homer starts by excitedly feeding his dog $27 worth of bacon, which converts into $0.63 worth of grease from a local rendering plant. From there, Homer requests all of the used grease from the deep fryer at the local Krusty Burger and is muscled out by a rival company. Desperate, he tries a final, last-ditch method
with Bart of stealing grease from the kitchen of Springfield Elementary. The theft is discovered by Highlander Willie who shouts, "My retirement grease!" and proceeds to pummel Homer.

As the episode illustrates, used cooking grease has monetary value. What might not have been clear when the episode first aired a dozen years ago is that recycled grease could also help save the planet. In a world increasingly dependant on fossil fuels and oil, used cooking grease can be turned into biodiesel, which helps promote alternative fuel and sustainability.

Solvent Systems International gets this. A pioneer in sustainable solutions for business, creating innovations in green cleaning since 1983, SSI pays more than 500 restaurants in the Chicago area for their used cooking grease. SSI then filters the grease to eliminate particulates and neutralize acids that may have built up from the cooking process.

The net result is methyl ester, more commonly known as biodiesel. Besides being used to power the SSI fleet of trucks in operation throughout the Midwest, the biodiesel is also used as an odorless, biobased cleaning agent. These cleaning agents, in turn, enable their users to meet environmental management ISO standards and also satisfy a recent executive order, mandating the purchase of biobased products.

Where Homer Simpson's grease business aspirations didn't last more than a single Simpsons episode, for SSI recycled grease is a valuable component of building a more sustainable world.