Melbourne may convert used cooking oil into biodiesel

A Melbourne, Australia city official has proposed that used cooking oil from the city’s Chinatown be collected and converted to biodiesel. Councilor Cathy Oke said that she had met with organizers of San Francisco’s oil recycling program, Greasecycle, on a recent trip to the state of California in the U.S. She believes a similar program would work in Melbourne. BioMAX Pty. Ltd., formerly known as Energetix, already privately collects used cooking oil from restaurants in the state of Victoria and converts it to biodiesel, some of which is sold through fuel stations and directly to customers. Officers of another local fuel company, Smorgon Fuels, said that an oil recycling program in Melbourne would be possible with government support. (July 2, 2009)