Fat, oil, and grease converted to energy

Leftover fat, oil and grease from local restaurants will now be converted into energy in Santa Barbara.

A new system using Marborg and City of Santa Barbara equipment converts the messy sludge into methane. That is used for nearly all the power at the El Estero wastewater plant and saves the city $60,000.

Marborg invested in the equipment to keep the waste in town, where it can be converted into energy, instead of trucking it to Bakersfield.

“Who really wins here is the environment and the community,” said Marborg Manager, Anthony Borgatello. “We’re able to reduce our carbon footprint by taking a truck off the road that would make a 100 mile trip,” to another facility.

The Santa Barbara Public Works department began working on this program about four years ago, and recently all the partners, and the technology came together.