A new biodiesel cooperative has been established in the Greater Toronto Area that will produce biodiesel from waste vegetable oil (WVO).
The GTA Biodiesel Co-op was created by Jason Colina, founder of Earthfirst EnviroTech Solutions Inc., a company that specializes in linking people and organizations that generate WVO with biodiesel producers. The co-op aims to encourage environmentally sustainable behaviour and support local agricultural and economic activities within the GTA.
The co-op will generate a closed-loop system whereby it will sell locally produced oil to restaurants and recover the waste oils from those restaurants to convert into biodiesel. Members of the co-op will contribute in a number of ways including growing oilseeds, collecting WVO, and retrofitting diesel vehicles to run on biodiesel or WVO. At some point, Colina hopes to have the funds in place to secure a site to produce ASTM standard biodiesel fuel for direct sale to individuals within the co-op.
The GTA Biodiesel Co-op is one of a number of growing biodiesel co-ops across Canada and is a project that Colina has been working to develop for some time. “I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “Essentially what I wanted to do was take what I had learned from Everpure Biodiesel in Erin Township and the Vancouver Biodiesel Co-op and modify it to suit the needs of the GTA Biodiesel Co-op.”
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Trying to generate interest in the co-op however, felt like an insurmountable task at first, Colina said, as it became increasingly difficult to create, organize and run a co-op on his own, but with the help of Vice President, Igor Rudukan, and the dedication of some volunteers, Colina saw it through to its formation.
“I stuck with it because it was the right thing to do from an economic standpoint especially in a large urban area such as Toronto where we have a problem with smog, [particularly] in the summer, not to mention the fact that there are tremendous amounts of greenhouse gases being released into the air in the city relative to other parts of the country,” he added.
The co-op has grown to include 20 confirmed members. The company is currently in the process of liaising with green energy organizations to secure a greater supply of WVO, which will in tandem, expand its membership. Using various forms of media, in particular Facebook, the co-op has gained the support of 112 online members so far.
In addition to the biodiesel co-op, Earthfirst EnviroTech Solutions is also involved in converting diesel vehicles to run on WVO, educational campaigns associated with the promotion of biodiesel, procurement of diesel vehicles for clients, and the resale of biodiesel and WVO-related products for consumers and companies.
With the promise of a Green Energy Act, which was tabled into government in May, encouraging Ontario communities and municipalities to develop, own and benefit from green energy projects, Colina believes the Act will give his company and others like it, a greater incentive to promote fuels and technologies that lessen our impact on nature.
For further information on Earthfirst EnviroTech Solutions Inc. visit: www.earthfirsttech.ca.