The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission this week announced the establishment of the first year-round permanent locations in the city for people to drop off their used cooking oil for conversion into biofuel.
San Francisco residents will be able to drop off the used oil every Friday at any Whole Foods store in the city. Also, the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council Recycling Center and Dogpatch Biofuels in Potrero Hill will collect the used cooking oil year-round.
The decision to establish permanent drop-off locations come after San Francisco established SFGreasecycle in 2007 to divert fats, oil and grease away from city sewers and recycle them into biodiesel fuels.
Since then, the city has been collecting used cooking oil from restaurants and food service establishments at no cost. More than 600 businesses have signed up, and more than 200,000 gallons of the oil has been collected so far, according to city officials.
The SFPUC has also organized Thanksgiving and Christmas residential collection events where more than 1,200 gallons of used cooking oil were collected, prompting the decision to establish permanent locations.
“The overwhelming success of our SFGreasecycle restaurant program and our temporary holiday drop-off locations prove that, when given new opportunities, our residents and businesses become active partners in our fight against climate change and blocked sewers,” SFPUC General Manager Ed Harrington said in a prepared statement.
Residents who want to participate in the program should cool down the used cooking oil in a pan, pour it into a clean, non-breakable, leak-proof container with a tight lid, and make sure it is free of water, soapsuds and food scraps before taking it to a drop-off location, according to city officials.
The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council Recycling Center is located at 755 Frederick St. and is open Monday to Saturday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Dogpatch Biofuels is located at 765 Pennsylvania Ave. and is open Tuesday to Friday between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., and on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Whole Foods stores in the city are available for drop-offs between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on different Fridays each month.
On the first Friday of each month, the store at 1765 California St. will accept the oils, while a new store in Noe Valley will accept the oils on the second Friday of the month.
The store at 399 Fourth St. will accept the oils on the third Friday of each month, while the store at 450 Rhode Island St. will accept them on the fourth Friday of the month.
For more information about the program, visit www.SFGreasecycle.org or call (415) 695-7366.
