Resources & Programs

Education and Outreach:

�Biodiesel for Kids

Full Circle Fuels works closely with the 501(c)(3) non-profit, Oberlin Design Initiative (ODI). ODI works toward environmental stewardship, economic development, and social justice through increasing awareness and access to biofuels in NE Ohio. Upcoming projects will focus on SVO conversions for low-income community members and the use of biodiesel in local school buses.

Waste Vegetable Oil Collection

Full Circle Fuels is implementing unique ways to improve the local economic, environmental, and social sustainability of Oberlin through changing the way our town interacts with vegetable oil. Currently the life cycle of vegetable oil in Oberlin is quite simple: the local food service industry imports this resource, uses it in preparation of food (about 35% is absorbed in this process ), then the remaining 65% is exported out of the town as a waste product.

It is collected by large trucks which are paid a fee for this service. In the case of at least one Oberlin collection company, that wished to remain nameless, diesel-powered dumpster trucks modified to transport grease instead of trash haul the oil to Cleveland for storage (~72 miles round trip) and then transport it to Detroit for processing (~350 miles round trip). As these trucks get an average of 7 miles per gallon, over 60 gallons of diesel fuel are consumed for each load of waste grease. In Detroit the grease is cleaned and dehydrated through the uses of intensive heating processes. Finally the processed grease, called yellow grease, is sold for use as animal feed, lubricants, and in commercial biodiesel production. This linear process spends local dollars to import a resource, and then spends them again to export a waste product that returns little if any of its potential added value to the local community.

We are already changing this process by intercepting the waste stream before it leaves town and processing it into fuel. We have built mutually beneficial partnerships with several local restaurants, supermarkets, and cafeterias, in which we collect their waste oil to filter and use as fuel, and they get their grease removed for free, instead of paying for the service. If you are interested in donating your business' or your personal waste vegetable oil, please contact us.

In the future we plan to change this linear process even more dramatically by treating vegetable oil as a product of service. Our product of service cycle will turn this waste product from a drain on local businesses into an affordable, renewable fuel for various consumer groups. Full Circle Fuels will buy vegetable oil for local needs, distribute it, and retain ownership of the resource. Initially, we can order the oil from a food purveyor like Sysco and in the future we could work directly with interested local farmers who press the oil. When the food service industry is finished with this oil they will return this product of service to the original distributor, Full Circle Fuels. We will in turn ensure that it is all used to offset local petroleum diesel consumption.

Workshops

Starting in the spring of 2006, Full Circle Fuels will be offering educational weekend workshops where you can come and make your own biodiesel on our mobile bike-powered processor. Click the links below for information about the processor and workshops, and be sure to check back for details.
�Community Scale Processor