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BIODIESEL IN ALASKA

There's a new name in town -- Alaska Green Waste Solutions. That's the name of the new company created this past January by Alaska Waste's parent company, JL Properties, to develop Alaska Waste's ventures in biodiesel manufacturing and commercial composting.

Alaska Green Waste Solutions unveiled its newest green initiative last month with the commissioning of its biodiesel plant at 6301 Rosewood Street in Anchorage.

The biodiesel facility is the first and currently only commercially sized plant of its kind in the state. The plant is designed to produce approximately 250,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel per year, much of which will be used by Alaska Waste's fleet of trucks.

"Today is very exciting for us because this program has been in development for several years. We were the first refuse company to introduce curbside recycling, the first to offer commercial customers pre-consumer food waste composting and now we are diverting more than 200,000 gallons of used cooking oil from the waste stream and using it to fuel our fleet," said Jeff Riley, Chief Operating Officer for Alaska Waste.

Biodiesel Collection

The feedstock for the plant is used cooking oil from local restaurants, which is processed into a clean-burning diesel fuel. Last year Alaska Waste began installing oil and grease containment systems in Anchorage's larger restaurants in order to establish the feedstock for the plant. Currently, about 230 businesses are participating. Most of these are in Anchorage but collection trucks also are picking up from businesses from Girdwood to the Valley.

According to Jeff Jessen, Alaska Waste's Renewable Resources Program Administrator, the biodiesel plant accomplished three main objectives:
1) recycling used cooking oils and greases so they don't end up in the landfill,
2) reducing carbon emissions by using a cleaner burning fuel, and
3) reducing diesel fuel costs for the company.

The biodiesel also provides the extra bonus of cleaning the fuel lines in the trucks.

Because biodiesel is even less cold tolerant than regular diesel, Alaska Waste plans to use different blends for different seasons, ranging from at least a 50% blend (called B50) during summer months to a more conservative 5-20% biodiesel blend with regular diesel during winter months.

"While the bulk of this biodiesel will be used internally, we anticipate a partnership with a local fuel distributor to provide Anchorage residents the opportunity to purchase biodiesel at the pump" says Riley.

Businesses not already working with Alaska Waste to recycle their waste cooking oil can contact the company for details about the program or they can drop off smaller quantities at Alaska Waste's facility during regular business hours. Up to five gallons at a time can be dropped off for a fee of $2.50 per container (e.g., two 2.5-gallon containers would cost $5). Containers must be sealed and free of residue on the outside.

The company anticipates that the facility will be fully operational by mid-July after adjustments are made with the current test batches. Soon, Anchorage residents also may see stickers in restaurant windows advertising their participation in this recycling program.

There is no government funding involved in the project. Alaska Waste is an affiliated company with JL Properties. JL Properties is the largest commercial real estate company in the state. Alaska Waste is the state's largest private refuse company providing service in Anchorage, Eagle River, Wasilla, Whittier, Kenai, Seward, Homer, Fairbanks, and Kodiak.

View a KTUU news story with photos for more information.