Help fill South Oakland's oil depository
At the community garden the residents call Frazier Farms at Frazier and Dawson in South Oakland, there's a little bin that accepts waste cooking oil from residents. This morning, I met Sara Innamorato and Travis Mecum there for a story I’m working on for next Thrusday’s Food section about a new project of GTECH Strategies called Refuel Oakland.
There were no donations in the bin. Travis, who handles operations for Refuel Oakland, said he has picked up one gallon since the bin was installed in the summer.
Putting a bin in a neighborhood space like Frazier Farm is a pilot effort; GTECH has bins for donations of household waste oil at more convenient drop-off points, Construction Junction and Whole Foods.
Frazier Farm is out of the way unless you live in South Oakland. If I lived in South Oakland, I would be delighted to know that I can collect oil from my skillet and put it somewhere other than down the drain.
Sara, GTECH’s communications specialist, made a good point: You may not think a couple tablespoons of used oil down the drain is much, but if everyone else thinks that way, we’ve got problems — a lot of oil in the water treatment process.
It got me thinking more about all the things we do unwittingly. I’m going to start scraping leftover oil from my skillet into a little container, and when it fills up, I can deliver it to any of the three GTECH locations... and I’m working on getting one at a site near where I live.
There were no donations in the bin. Travis, who handles operations for Refuel Oakland, said he has picked up one gallon since the bin was installed in the summer.
Putting a bin in a neighborhood space like Frazier Farm is a pilot effort; GTECH has bins for donations of household waste oil at more convenient drop-off points, Construction Junction and Whole Foods.
Frazier Farm is out of the way unless you live in South Oakland. If I lived in South Oakland, I would be delighted to know that I can collect oil from my skillet and put it somewhere other than down the drain.
Sara, GTECH’s communications specialist, made a good point: You may not think a couple tablespoons of used oil down the drain is much, but if everyone else thinks that way, we’ve got problems — a lot of oil in the water treatment process.
It got me thinking more about all the things we do unwittingly. I’m going to start scraping leftover oil from my skillet into a little container, and when it fills up, I can deliver it to any of the three GTECH locations... and I’m working on getting one at a site near where I live.
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