New campus recycling program converts grease to biofuel

Kitchen grease at NC State’s E.S. King Village and Western Manor Apartments won’t be clogging drains much longer. Beginning Jan. 27, residents will be able to collect and recycle cooking grease and oil, which will be converted into clean-burning biodiesel fuel.

Cease the Grease, a partnership between University Housing and the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling, will distribute reusable collection containers to residents. After cooking, residents can cool their kitchen grease, pour it into the container and empty the grease into a collection bin located near their apartment’s outdoor waste and recycling site.

Grease will be picked up by Piedmont Biofuels, a Pittsboro-based plant specializing in converting grease and oil into useful biofuel. In addition to creating renewable fuel, Cease the Grease will help prevent clogged drains, pests and odors in campus apartments.

The new program is an expansion of the university’s successful cooking grease recycling program in on-campus dining facilities, which recycle about 1,000 gallons of oil a month.