Investigators in St. Louis are looking into a string of high-dollar thefts from local restaurants. Their target? Used cooking oil. The leftover grease from these restaurants can be processed into biodiesel, jet fuel, and feed for cows/chickens. With more consumers ditching fossil fuels each year, this used grease can now go for a pretty penny. Which is apparently what inspired thieves in St. Louis, IL to go after the substance.
In November, two men were caught on camera backing up a truck, and taking all the grease from a restaurant’s tanker. These tankers are usually stored by dumpsters outside since restaurants are legally required to remove used cooking oil and properly dispose of it. According to Jim Whyte, Director Central West End Neighborhood Security Initiative (the group responsible for the camera), eight businesses were hit that night.
Why Stealing Oil Is A Crime
While thieves taking used up grease may not seem like a big deal, there are companies that exist to collect it. These companies work with restaurants to legally collect the oil and in turn the establishment gets a rebate. So both the oil collection companies and eateries are losing out on serious potential income.
“If we don’t collect oil, we can’t provide a rebate,” Wesley Williamson, retired law enforcement agent and current security and asset protection director of Ace Grease, said. “Once the oil is in the container, the food particles in the water start settling out of it and the oil will float on top. The thieves don’t want to clean out the food particles or the water, so they’ll take the top, say 20 some inches, or depending on how full it is. They’ll take the top oil, the cleaner oil, that has sat there and then leave the byproducts and the less valuable stuff for us. We’ll follow these guys sometimes and they’ll hit 20-23 places a night.”
Williamson has investigated several of these illegal operations and hands over all his findings to law enforcement.
In regards to the thieves that were caught on camera, “I haven’t seen that truck before,” Williamson explains. “I kind of think I know who they are, but I haven’t ‘t been able to ID them and pin them down… that tank could be worth up to about $4,800 worth of cooking oil.”
Ace Grease claims that oil theft results in lost revenue totaling more than $40 million each year. There is the additional risk of the containers for the used grease sustaining damage, which has cost over $3 million.
We’ll keep you posted on updates about this story as it develops.
