This November, Clean Energy Biofuels, the City of Knoxville and Knox County will begin waste vegetable oil collection program that will allow residents to recycle their used cooking oil into cleaner burning biodiesel. As part of this pilot program, collection centers will be set up throughout Knox County where residents can drop off any closed, non-glass container of waste vegetable oil.
Beginning November 29th, the following locations will begin permanently collecting waste vegetable oil during their respective regular hours:
Knoxville Household Hazardous Waste: 1033 Elm Street
Earth Fare (Bearden): 140 N Forest Park Blvd
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy: 3804 Middlebrook Pike
The locations below will be collecting waste vegetable oil November 29th - December 6th and may become permanent collection sites:
Halls County Convenience Center: 3604 Neal Road
Dutchtown County Convenience Center: 10618 Dutchtown Road
John Sevier County Convenience Center: 1810 John Sevier Hwy
Clean Energy Biofuels, a partnership between the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and made possible by a grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) aims to supply locally produced biodiesel to the Knoxville community. The waste vegetable oil collected from community members will be added to what is already being collected from almost one hundred partnering restaurants and food service establishments. By utilizing this waste product as their primary feedstock, Clean Energy Biofuels is able to create a domestic, renewable fuel source that does not compete with food crops for arable land.
Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little or no modifications and has several benefits over is petroleum counterpart. The fuel itself is nontoxic, biodegradable and its combustion emits significantly less public and environmental health hazards such as sulfur, carbon and nitrogen. Additionally, the local sourcing, production and distribution of Clean Energy Biofuels enhances the local economy as well as reducing our dependence on foreign fuel sources, thus enhancing our nation's security.
In addition to the benefit of providing a local, community-driven feedstock for cleaner burning biodiesel, this new residential waste vegetable oil collection program will expand current educational efforts focused on proper oil disposal. Providing a recycling option for waste vegetable oil will keep it out of drains where it can cause harmful sewage backups as well a out of the overburdened landfills that taxes are used to maintain.
If there are any questions regarding the residential waste vegetable oil collection program, biodiesel, Clean Energy Biofuels, or the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy feel free to visit cleanenergybiofuels.com or contact Clean Energy Biofuels at 865.637.6055 ext. 16.