Whether you own a biodiesel vehicle or just covert fryer grease into fuel for a furnace or other appliance, you know that grease is harder to come by than one might expect. Often times, restaurants are the best source for large amounts of inexpensive waste veggie oil (wvo). A problem can arise when trying to find a restaurant willing to donate their used oil to your cause. By understanding a few basic principles about wvo collection, you can greatly increase your chances of persuading a restaurant to hand over the slimy stuff you so desperately desire.

Because many restaurants have an agreement with a grease company, where the company will remove the restaurant’s wvo without charge, some businesses no longer have claim over their grease once it exits the building. The good news is that, oftentimes, these ‘deals’ are only one-year agreements. This means that a restaurant many get their wvo removed free for a year, but after that, they are required to pay for the service. Because the restaurant is used to the service being provided (it is a messy job!), they are usually okay with paying a nominal fee to the company after the initial year. This is where any crafty wvo hunter can get their foot in the door.

In order to find out what a particular restaurant is doing with their wvo, there are a few important things you should remember when attempting to approach anyone in the particular establishment.

Buy Something: The easiest way to get the attention of the people you need to talk to is to buy something. Walk into the restaurant just like you were any other customer, sit down, and order something to eat. Once your food has arrived, ask to speak with the manager. Because most managers (and wait staff) will thing you have a complaint about your meal, they’re in a relatively good mood once they realize you are not their to criticize their product or performance.

Speak to Your Target Audience: Seeing as how all restaurant employees may not have an extensive background in the finer point of biodiesel collection, it is important that you simplify your message. The biggest mistake that you could make would be to walk in and start spewing complicated rhetoric at a manager who has a million other things to do besides deal with your smarty-pants speech about saving the world. Stick to the basics: who you are, what you want and why you want it. If you get a positive response, it is at this point where you could discuss specifics like when and where the wvo can be collected.

Keep it Clean: Everyday, at least on sales rep comes into my restaurant and attempts to sell us anything from new knives to health-care packages. These people are identifiable by their unbelievably crisp suits, blue tooth head-sets and laptop computer cases. Do not emulate these people. When the salesmen arrive, most managers run: they don’t want to deal with sales people just like anyone else. Dress in accordance to the clientele’s apparel. If it is a sports bar, don’t hesitate to wear jeans.

Be Persistent: If the manager is hesitant, or fails to give you the attention you are looking for, do not hesitate to ask for the contact info of the general manager or the owner. Oftentimes, a manager on duty does not have the authority to give you permission to take the wvo. At the same time, they might just be too busy with the day-to-day operations of the restaurant to pay you much attention. This is why the higher-ups can be your key to success

Be a Tool, Not an Inconvenience: Frequently, restaurants stay with the same grease service for years at a time. Given that grease disposal services eventually begin charging for their services, a restaurant’s inclination to continue to pay to have their grease picked up has something to do with convenience. Grease can be nasty: it is messy, can have a stench to it, and it forms residue on any container used to hold it. Many restaurants are just happy that someone else will come and take it away, mess-free, for them. You will have much more success in getting a restaurant to donate their wvo to you if you offer to provide a barrel or a few cubees.

Take a Penny, Leave a Penny: If a restaurant is kind enough to give you their used oils, it makes sense that you should to something for them in return. If you use their oils to make fuel for your car, proudly display a bumper-sticker or decal from that restaurant. Try to increase the restaurant’s client base by spreading the word of their good deed. Most importantly, try to incorporate them into your ‘biodiesel story’: when people ask about your biodiesel car, or wvo furnace, be sure to drop the name of the business that made it possible.

Although biodiesel collection can be a daunting task, building a good connection between yourself and a few local business can make all the difference. If you treat your collection agreements like business contracts, you will not only prove your professionalism, but you will lay the foundations for an arrangement that could benefit you for years to come.

For more information, check out the Collaborative Biodiesel Tutorial and Biodiesel America