Buffalo Biodiesel Warns Customers of Rise in Used Cooking Oil Theft

Buffalo Biodiesel is urging about 30,000 restaurant customers across the U.S. Northeast to be vigilant in monitoring their premises to prevent theft of used cooking oil (UCO), which can be used as a feedstock for biodiesel production, the New York-based UCO collection company said on Friday.

“Cooking oil theft nationally has become a big problem, and there is a sophisticated and growing illegal black marketplace that is threatening the biodiesel sector,” Ryan Haggerty, Buffalo Biodiesel chief state litigator and general counsel, said in a news release. “Restaurants in general are an easy target because used cooking oil is stored in bins that are usually outside in areas with no surveillance or lighting.”

The warning follows several recent UCO theft cases in New York, including arrests announced by New York State Police in July involving suspects accused of siphoning UCO from businesses in the central part of the state.

Buffalo Biodiesel pointed to an Aug. 22 announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York about an individual who pleaded guilty to stealing 45,000 lbs of UCO for sale to a refinery in Erie, Pa.

Another individual pleaded guilty in a separate case on Sept. 1 after law enforcement seized about 12,000 gal of stolen UCO, in addition to about $140,000 in cash and a handgun, according to Buffalo.

The company said hundreds of thefts have occurred at its customers’ businesses over the past several years, and that the number has been increasing.

“Profit margins are extremely tight in the restaurant business, so investing in surveillance equipment and lighting and building out more secure locations on premises can be a deterrent to owners and operators,” Haggerty said. “At the same time, selling used cooking oil is a profit center for many establishments, and making these security enhancements can be a good investment to thwart criminals from stealing a product that is in extremely strong demand.”

Last year, the estimated total of UCO theft in the U.S. was between $300 million and $500 million, according to data from the North American Renderers Association.

Reporting by Bryan Sims, bsims@opisnet.com; Editing by Aaron Alford, aalford@opisnet.com