homegrown fuel? homegrown spills. homegrown cleanup!

Dear Ester~

I spilled some grease. What should I do?

Desperate to Reclaim Important Product

Dear DRIP~

Once upon a time we were collecting a couple hundred gallons worth of restaurant fryer grease in five-gallon jugs.

We would uncap each jug and lift it individually to pour off the thick golden liquid into a 55-gallon drum. The point was to take only the good stuff off the top and leave the milky sediment (we call it schmutz) in the bottom of the jug where it belonged. Our "Unified Theory of Grease" described the process of homogenizing fryer oils from multiple sources.

When the unification was complete, there were typically around 50 greasy jugs with schmutzy bottoms strewn about. We attempted to recycle these containers but failed to find a single recycler within 100 miles who was willing to accept greasy plastic.

Because landfilling was not a sustainable option, we painstakingly cleaned each jug with brushes, pokers, green degreaser and a splash of hot water. Then we could cart them off to the recycling center by the pickup truck load.

Those were the days when my arms bulged with muscles most folk did not know were possible. I was buff. Of course the full effect of my stunning arms was somewhat offset by the pungent odor of hot grease mixed with sweat.

Spills are inevitable when handling liquids. I spill a few drops every time I fill my water glass or take a leak. Luckily cleanup from these minor spills is a snap.

Fryer oil cleanup is more challenging and also has a greater environmental safety impact (same goes for biodiesel and, to a greater extent, methanol).

Even though we love that fryer oil and biodiesel are more biodegradable than sugar and less toxic than table salt, spilling them on the ground can result in gummy or hard coatings that can persist for years. Spilling them in the water can deplete oxygen supply due to rapid biodegradation and coat aquatic birds and animals.

The best thing we have found for an indoor oil spill is to suck up the oil with a shop-vac or pump. Use absorbent like sawdust, kitty litter, or oil-dry to remove the remaining grease slick. Finish the job by scouring with degreaser and a mop. Voila, good as new!

Outdoor spills kill grass and vegetation by coating the leaves and root structures in an oily slick that chokes plant respiration, nutrient uptake and limits photosynthesis. If the spill is big, say over five gallons, it may be necessary to dig up the affected area and replace with fresh material.

We once had a member tie a biodiesel dispenser nozzle open while he filled his 100-gallon truck tank. He got distracted, forgot to check the progress of his fill and emptied around 10 gallons of biodiesel onto the gravel.

We dug the gravel and a few inches of dirt below it up and redistributed over our long dirt/gravel drive way.

Grading the relatively small amount of oily gravel into the very large area of dry, dusty gravel effectively diluted it. Then we replaced the area around the dispenser with fresh gravel. For smaller spills on gravel we often use mulch to absorb the oil and don't need to replace the gravel. For small spills on grass we usually rake the area, reseed and cover with straw. It tends to take a couple of months for the new grass to emerge.

Of course, the best solution is abstinence. Give your full attention to the liquid transfer at hand to prevent spilling in the first place. S