Biodiesel, which is made of both vegetable and animal sources in waste cooking oil and burns 78% cleaner than petroleum diesel fuel, is a welcome alternative in big cities such as New York, especially since it is so easy to obtain. It works out for the city's 18,000-plus eating establishments as well, which typically have to pay a private company to come and collect their waste cooking oil.

The Doe Fund's Resource Recovery Program provides free, on-demand pick-up of waste cooking oil to food service establishments all over the city. It is fully licensed and insured and complies with the NYC waste oil disposal regulations. All waste oil retrieved is converted into ASTM standard biodiesel. It can then be used in a diesel engine without modification. "The idea came when George McDonald, Founder of the Doe Fund, was walking down the street and noticed a restaurant was dumping their waste food oil down the sewer, "explained Lee Alman, Director of Public Affairs with the Doe Fund.

The Doe Fund has been providing housing and employment to formerly homeless New Yorkers for over 20 years. The Doe Fund's Ready, Willing, & Able (RWA) Resource Recovery service started is one of its many community service projects. Since its inception in December 2006, RWA Resource Recovery has signed up over 300 participating restaurants, with over 50 new restaurants added this September. Many local restaurants in Williamsburg have signed on to the program including Lodge, Lily Thai, Bahia, Kellogg's Diner, and Garden Grill.

In September alone Resource Recovery collected over 23,500 gallons of waste oil and has collected over 112,500 gallons to date, which have been converted into biodiesel fuel. The Doe Fund recently received a grant of $500,000 over the span of 3 years from HSBC Bank, to be used towards RWA Resource Recovery and will allow it to expand its service to the city. "We are really trying to target Brooklyn right now," says Gary Pernick, Program Director of Resource Recovery. "We will be able to increase the program with the new grant and get a 3rd truck with a 2,000 gallon capacity." The expansion will allow the RWA Resource Recovery to hire 31 full-time employees and to provide 60 vocational training positions.

Biodiesel fuel is becoming more popular than ever. It is biodegradable and non-toxic and many car companies have caught on to the trend. European vehicle manufacturers Scania and Volkswagen allow most of their engines to run on biodiesel and you can find gas stations in Europe where biodiesel fuel is available at the pump. The Ford Focus has also recently been converted to run on biodiesel. Hobbyists in Williamsburg and students at Greepoint's automotive high school have been converting older cars to accept biodiesel as well. It can also be used as a heating source for domestic and commercial boilers.

Waste cooking oil is a major urban resource. The Doe Fund hopes to collect over 5 million gallons of waste cooking oil and to serve over 3,500 restaurants in New York City. The Doe Fund also hopes to build the first-ever biodiesel plant in New York City, making it a source of biofuel for the city, as a cleaner and more environmentally sound energy alternative.