Curbside Grease Collection Pilot Program Starts Nov. 1
Starting on Nov. 1, the City of Raleigh will provide curbside collection of cooking oil and grease in a pilot program designed to help prevent sewer overflows. Residents in the Capital City will be able to dispose of these products by setting them on the curb along with their garbage, recycling and yard waste. Places of worship in the Capital City also will be able to participate in the pilot program, which will last through the holidays until Jan. 15.
The City will collect the unwanted cooking oil and grease at no charge. The service will not be offered to commercial establishments in Raleigh.
The goal of the pilot program is to protect the environment by keeping cooking oil and grease out of the City’s sewer system and preventing sewer overflows. The collected cooking oil and grease will be converted to biofuels, a renewable source of energy used to power vehicles, heat homes and cook food. The holiday season was selected for the program because of the high amounts of grease usually generated at this time from holiday gatherings.
The pilot program will be a joint effort of the City of Raleigh’s Public Utilities, Solid Waste Services and Public Affairs departments and Triangle Biofuels Industries Inc. Triangle Biofuels will reimburse the City 25 cents for each gallon of cooking oil or animal grease collected, and convert the material to biofuels. Only animal grease and vegetable cooking oil will be collected at the curb in the pilot program. Motor oil and other petroleum products will not be accepted and should continue to be taken to Wake County’s drop-off facilities at 9037 Deponie Drive in Raleigh or 6130 Old Smithfield Road in Apex.
Starting on Nov. 1, Raleigh residents and places of worship can call the City’s Solid Waste Services Department, 996-6890, to arrange for the curbside collection of cooking oil or grease. The oil and grease must be placed in a sealable and preferably clear container marked as “cooking oil.” Examples of containers that can be used are milk jugs, juice cartons with screw-on caps, coffee cans or the cooking oil’s original non-glass container. Glass containers will not be accepted.
Households will place the containers with grease or cooking oil on the curb on their designated weekly trash collection day after they have called the City’s Solid Waste Services Department to arrange for curbside collection of the materials. The City will make arrangements with places of worship to pick up their cooking oil or grease. The amount of cooking oil or grease to be collected from each household or place of worship must be at least half a gallon. City Solid Waste Department vehicles will take the collected cooking oil and animal grease to two large bulk containers provided and maintained by Triangle Biofuels.
Only Raleigh households and places of worship will be allowed to participate in the curbside grease collection pilot program. The pilot program will not be offered to residents and places of worship in the six towns served by the City of Raleigh’s Public Utilities Department --- Garner, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon.
For more information about the City of Raleigh’s curbside grease collection pilot program, contact the City’s Public Utilities Department at 857-4540.
Prepared by:
John Boyette
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department
For More Information Contact:
Marti Gibson
Environmental Coordinator - Wastewater
Public Utilities Department
3304 Lake Woodard Road
Raleigh, NC 27604
919-250-7826
