Grease bandits expand to Washington state; waste oil thieves now operating in 10 states

In Washington state, Standard Biodiesel in Arlington said that “there’s some piracy going on” as grease bandits have moved into the Pacific Northwest. A company spokesperson told the Seattle Post Intelligencer that waste oil “is becoming quite the commodity,” Grease banditry has been reported in 10 states, with low-level organized crime moving into a field that steals grease valued at as much as $2.00 per gallon from restaurant disposal areas.

Grease thieves continue to appear in the news, interrupting the biodiesel supply chain in the US,
prompting a feature story in the Christian Science Monitor on cases in
Kentucky, Taxes, Florida, Missouri, California and Arkansas. Theft
ranges from petty operations by home brewers to truck-based efforts
yielding up to $6,000 in stolen grease in Texas, to gang-related grease
theft in Arkansas.

Texas attorney Jon Jaworski, a self styled “grease lawyer” has
defended more than 150 clients, and lost only one court case, said that
“Juries are amazed by the time and effort put in to try to convict
people for stealing stuff that is rancid”, although grease now sells
for $0.32 per pound, up from $0.12 per pound in 2006.

In Nevada earlier this year, a 49-year old man was arrested for stealing grease from a Burger King grease trap, intending to convert the grease into biodiesel.
Burger King has a collection contract with San Jose Tallow, who
contacted police when they saw the man transferring grease from the
restaurants trap to a 5,000 gallon tank car. The theft is the latest in
a spate of crime among “grease thieves”, attributed to the rising cost
of biodiesel fuel and the corresponding rise in the value of grease as
a feedstock.

 

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