GURPREET GHAG
NEWS REPORTER

The life of Humber’s cooking oil doesn’t end at the fryers – instead the oil is being recycled and turned in biodiesel fuel.
After absorbing the essences of thousands of fries, chicken fingers and other fried foods, the oil from all the fryers at North and Lakeshore campuses – in places like Harvey’s, Lake Cafe, and residence kitchens – is sent away to be turned into something useful, said food services manager John Thompson.
The initiative revolves around the Humber 360 plan, he said, which aims at reducing the environmental impact of our school. “It goes with things like biodegradable napkins, coffee cups, and the new lights” that reduce energy consumption, Thompson said.
Whenever the bins are full, which is about twice a month, a company called Rothsay Recycling comes to pick up the used oil and recycle it into fuel, he said.
Although no one was able to be interviewed from Rothsay, their spokesperson Caroline Spivak stated in an e-mail that a school like Humber generates about 2,000 kilograms of raw grease a year. After being purified, that grease leaves about 1,400 kilograms that can actually be turned into biodiesel.
After the transformation from usable grease to biodiesel is made, a school like Humber ends up generating just over 1,500 litres of biodiesel a year.
Currently the use of biodiesel is being implemented in larger vehicle fleets and is slowly gaining acceptance in North America.
Toronto Hydro, for example, now has roughly half its fleet running on biodiesel.
Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller said although the cost of biodiesel is slightly higher than that of normal diesel, the impact of roughly 325 of their vehicles constantly running on the fuel “makes a big difference in reducing carbon-emissions.”

Photo by Gurpreet Ghag
Biodiesel created from spent fryer oil reduces the carbon emissions of the vehicles it powers.