The county has been picking up, free of charge, used vegetable oil from restaurants, catering facilities and other food service establishments throughout Westchester since the service was launched. Businesses have been requesting this pickup service through the online request form or by calling (914) 813-5478.

The service has become so popular that the county has reached capacity and is placing all new requests on a waiting list. The county's collection service is free of charge. It's viewed as being good for business, good for the environment, and good for taxpayers, because it ultimately will save tax dollars.

The collected vegetable oil is being processed into a clean-burning alternative fuel that can be used alone or blended with conventional diesel and used as motor fuel. Already the county has been converting limited quantities of vegetable oil into biodiesel for use in county trucks, vans, a snow plow, pick-up truck, a farm tractor, a full size garbage truck and of course, the Veggie Van, which travels the county providing education outreach about global warming. This free collection service will allow the county to expand biodiesel use to other county vehicles. Potentially, biodiesel will be used to heat county buildings.

By collecting and processing used vegetable oil, the county will save significantly over the current practice of purchasing petroleum diesel. For every 10,000 gallons of vegetable oil collected, the county can save up to $25,000 in fuel spending, based on the average cost of $2.50 per gallon of petroleum diesel. Additionally, using biodiesel fuel supports the county efforts to reduce global warming.

Biodiesel emits 80 percent less carbon dioxide than petroleum-based diesel. So the more county vehicles we have running on biodiesel, the greater the reductions in greenhouse gases will be on a local level. To learn more about biodiesel fuel, visit Biodiesel.org.

The county still encourages food service establishments in Westchester to sign up for the free collection service so they are placed on the waiting list.

The restaurants listed below are those currently participating in the county efforts to “go green.” We hope Westchester residents will show their support and patronize their services.

Applebee's American Yacht Club Aquario Restaurant Ardsley Country Club Bedford Diner Brae Burn Country Club Caravella Resturant Chef Andrea Rest Children's Village College of New Rochelle Danny Parker Doral Arrowwood Edith Macy Conference Cente Emma's Ale House Fair Deal Café Four Winds Hospital G Bakery Golden Crust Green County Restaurant Gus's Harbour and Fountain Clubs Henry's on the Hudson IBM Learning Center IBM World Headquarters IBM World North Castle Kendal On-The Hudson Sr. Comm. Kings Soul Food

Lazy Boy Sloon Ale Hose M&M Deli Maryknoll Brothers Maryknoll Fathers MasterCard Worldwide Michael's Pizza MVH Design LLC Niko's Nokia Pepsi- World Hedquarters Pete's Saloon and Restauant Phelp's Memorial Hospital Pizzeria Rochambeau Building Sam's of Gedney Way Sofia Deli & Café S. Vincents Hospital Stanz Café Star Bagels Café Steve' s Japanese Bistro Sundance Deli Tequila Sunrise The Gallery Veracruz II Restaurant Westchester Women's Club White Plains School Food Service Will Ridge Country Clu