Jumping on the ‘biodiesel bandwagon’

Fuel co-op holds recruiting drive in Riverdale

Calderón and Adam Schwartz, both of College Park, recently created the Green Guild Biodiesel Co-op, a nonprofit cooperative that educates the community about climate change and the peak oil crisis by collecting used vegetable oil, producing biodiesel fuel and distributing it.

Biodiesel is non-toxic, non-flammable and has cleaner emissions, Schwartz said, and can be used in any unmodified diesel engine.

‘‘This area has one of the most amazing wetlands. The Anacostia Watershed used to be an amazing port and we want to revive that with an environmental push,” Calderón said.

Currently biodiesel fuel is hard to find in the Washington, D.C., area because it’s not as widely produced.

‘‘People often drive over an hour away to rural areas that carry biodiesel to fill up. Others like large fleet owners bulk purchase and dispense privately,” Schwartz said, adding that the fuel they produce and provide will only be available to members of the Green Guild.

To get started, the Green Guild held its first interest meeting March 12 in Riverdale to seek out members of the co-op, drawing about 20 people. Seven of those people already used biodiesel and two produce their own fuel.

Schwartz said the use of alternative fuels like ethanol, biodiesel and vegetable oil are not very common.

‘‘Our transportation system was built around the petroleum industry. These alternatives are growing in popularity but none have the capacity to completely replace oil,” he said.

They plan to launch the first phase of their co-op May 1 to coincide with the beginning of the farmer’s market season.

‘‘We’ll start by bulk purchasing biodiesel from a wholesale distributer and redistributing it at farmer’s markets,” Schwartz said. ‘‘Eventually we’ll create our own from waste vegetable oil that we’ll collect from restaurants, process locally and redistribute.”

Fuel will be collected and redistributed by a retrofitted school bus biotanker. Members or customers can pump the fuel into five-gallon tanks or directly into their cars. Members would also be able to trade volunteer hours producing the biodiesel in exchange for fuel.

Eventually, Green Guild hopes to build at least one full-service tank and pumping station.

Laryn Kragt Bakker of Avondale said he was previously a member of a biodiesel co-op and had been searching for another one to join.

‘‘My main interest was that they’re producing their own fuel from used vegetable oil,” he said, adding he was intrigued by the production process.

‘‘I’d like to make my own biodiesel now, but I just don’t have the space for it,” said Chris Fuller of Washington, D.C. ‘‘But [I’m] definitely considering joining, especially if they’re gung-ho about producing, and it seems like they are.”

Even with the benefits of biodiesel fuel, Schwartz admits that there are some downfalls.

‘‘Biodiesel has a high gelling point and is thus difficult in the winter cold weather because it gels in fuel lines or tanks. This can be addressed by adding chemical additives to the fuel in addition to winterizing storage and production,” he said.

Membership with Green Guild costs $250, of which $200 is a co-op share and $50 is the annual membership fee. The co-op will hold another meeting in Takoma Park at the end of March or the beginning of April. To learn more about Green Guild, visit www.greenguildbiodiesel.org.

E-mail Maya T. Prabhu at mprabhu@gazette.net.