Used Cooking Oil Theft & The Foodservice Industry

Used Cooking Oil Theft

Thieves stealing used cooking oil is a problem many restaurant owners have been grappling with for years, and it gets worse when oil prices rise and biodiesel productive incentives increase. Cooking oil theft damages property as thieves will cut locks and break containers to get at the "liquid gold," but it also drains a significant source of income away from foodservice operators and oil recycling companies. With the used-oil business valued in the billions of dollars,1 thieves seeking illicit profit from redirecting that money are not likely to disappear any time soon. We'll discuss the problem and some potential solutions if your business is being targeted.

Cooking Oil Theft: Table of Contents

Is used cooking oil valuable?

For a long time, used cooking oil was more of a nuisance than a commodity. Restaurants would have to pay to have someone come and haul it away, as dumping it in the waste system could cause clogging, sewage blockages, and cause horrible smells to regurgitate into your dining areas. With advancements in technology, greater interest in recycling, and government subsidies, turning this old oil into biodiesel has become an industry unto itself. Biodiesel, also called green diesel, can fuel appropriate compression engines to power trucks, generators, and other diesel engines, just like petroleum diesel.2

Biodiesel producers can make around $6 per gallon,3 which makes the production of this green fuel source a profitable business and is the reason thieves have stepped into the market, as well. Used cooking oil sells for more than $3 a gallon in the open market, and while the black market doesn't offer that lucrative number, thieves can still pull in thousands of dollars a day.

What do thieves do with used cooking oil?

Used cooking oil theft is usually combined with some oil recycling middlemen that can make it difficult for the biodiesel producers to determine if they're buying stolen cooking oil or not. Typically, a restaurant will have a collection point for all the used cooking oil: a container out back that the oil collection agencies can access. Thieves show up in the middle of the night – or, for the particularly brazen, in the middle of the day with a uniform on – and suck the oil out of these bins into storage on their vehicle, then drive off to meet the middlemen later.

The price of old oil varies as the price of crude oil, the level of subsidy, and various costs fluctuate, but some estimates put old oil at 25 cents a pound.4 This may not sound like a lot, but when thieves are able to steal thousands of pounds of oil in one go, they can end up making over $500 in a single heist that offers one significant benefit over other, more lucrative targets: prosecuting and imprisoning oil thieves can be difficult.

Why aren't they being caught?

Often they are, but unless they're caught at just the right moment with significant proof, authorities may not be able to do much to deter them. For example, if the thieves only have a few hundred pounds of oil in their truck, it's not worth the time and financial cost to charge them with a felony – assuming local police understand the value of stolen cooking oil.

Another difficulty is that the used oil supply chain is spread out, meaning the business losing the money isn't always the closest one to the oil.

  • A restaurant will hire a company to come pick up their oil at regular intervals.
  • The restaurant stores used oil in an exterior container throughout the week.
  • Thieves take the oil before the collection company can retrieve it.
  • The collection company comes by and finds no oil left, which means there is no oil to sell.

It can take a while for information about the theft to get to the people who need it. If the oil theft is only discovered when the restaurant operator misses a check from the collection company for their portion of a sale that didn't happen, it can be too late to track down the perpetrators. Restaurants also frequently have trouble getting law enforcement to prioritize cases like these. Trying to explain the problem to someone unfamiliar with the industry can sound a lot like complaining that someone is stealing your garbage.

Law enforcement is catching up to this crime, though. In recent years, organized rings of oil thieves have been discovered and prosecuted.

How can restaurants protect their used oil?

If your establishment is being targeted for oil theft, there are a few steps you can take to try and dissuade would-be thieves.5

  1. Install cameras to monitor the oil storage location, along with signs to notify potential thieves of surveillance.
  2. Improve lighting in the area to deter anyone stealing cooking oil. Without appropriate lighting, cameras won't help.
  3. Install locks on the oil containers, but be warned that they can be cut. Some businesses may spend a decent amount of money replacing locks.
  4. Move the oil storage containers or barrels indoors. This can be difficult in a cramped restaurant space, and it also requires having your oil picked up during business hours.

References

  1. Restaurant Grease Thieves. NPR. Accessed August 2021.
  2. Biodiesel Fuel Basics. Energy.gov. Accessed August 2021.
  3. A Black Market in Used Oil. The Morning Call. Accessed August 2021.
  4. Why Thieves Are Stealing Cooking Oil. Food and Wine. Accessed August 2021.
  5. How to Secure Cooking Oil. Grand Natural. Accessed August 2021.