Pirates, rustlers and the future of fryer grease

With the popularity of biofuels rising like fat to the top of a grease trap, a new kind of “entrepreneur” is turning grease into gold. And while recycling fryer grease into fuel may be a fine use for something that’s otherwise only responsible for fattening Americans and scarring teenaged fry cooks, these particular entrepreneurs are no-good, low-down thieves.

Call them grease “pirates” or “rustlers”, the conclusion remains the same: these are thieves stealing a once-worthless commodity that’s now capable of fetching $6,000 from a well-stocked Burger King grease bin. Try making that kind of oily coin at minimum wage.

The intent behind the fanciful names seems clear: in a rapidly changing environment where the old laws (i.e. grease = garbage) don’t apply, it’s natural to compare our shifting society to the High Seas (or the Old West. Though the frontiers that made those two periods so infamously, even romantically, volatile have been long since explored, it appears the “green” frontier is just beginning to open up, bringing its own particular brand of lawlessness.

So call these thieves “pirates” or “rustlers,” say they’re negotiating new waters or forging on in the new frontier, the reality is the same: these are environmental profiteers, out there making a buck, and in the end that’s always been the way of the future.