Biofuel Production in Saginaw County, MI 

Community issue: At Birch Run High School in Saginaw County, Mich., students, teachers and staff weren’t recycling or using any “green” energy practices. The school was even paying to have their used cooking oil from the cafeteria hauled away. Local restaurants were also disposing of their used cooking oil in ways that weren’t always consistent with good environmental practices. They knew this was negatively impacting the environment.

How it was addressed: Five teens in the Birch Run High School 4-H club, along with project spokesperson, Josh, wanted to help their school adopt more environmentally friendly practices. Working with their leader, Jan Pollard—who was also their science teacher—they began several projects including one to capture the fact that used cooking oil from the school cafeteria could be turned into bio-diesel fuel.  They were able to produce bio-diesel fuel at a quantity and quality that allowed the school to use it to run some of their school buses.

Word about the program spread, and area farmers began asking the club for help making their own bio-diesel fuel to run their tractors and other farm equipment. When the school decided to contract out their busing operation and no longer needed the fuel, the fuel the club was making began going to these farmers, instead.

Today, community residents also get into the act by driving around to the back of the school to dump their used cooking oil at the “drive through” station the club created. As of early 2012, the program had 2,500 gallons of used vegetable oil ready to be turned into bio-diesel fuel, which will add considerably to the 1,400 gallons of fuel they’ve already made.

The results: The program saved the school money by having buses run off the bio-diesel fuel and also by not having to pay an outside company to have the used cooking oil removed.  The program also helped local farmers save money on their fuel costs, and whether the fuel is used to run school buses or tractors, it causes less pollution than regular diesel fuel does when it burns. Ultimately, this project has helped create less of a negative environmental impact.

The program has created a byproduct, too—education. Impressed with what they were hearing about the program, other schools began calling, eager to learn how they could start their own biodiesel programs. The club has began taking its show on the road by showing other schools how to get on the bio-diesel bandwagon.

“It puts us in a place where Birch Run is not just farm country, it’s also a place where there is major growth in the area of alternative education for our students in alternative energy,” says Birch Run High School principal, Mike Baszler.

What does Josh have to say? “Our country has a need for alternative energy sources. To be able to participate in alternative energy programs and recycling programs is definitely going to be something that is part of our daily lives in the future. It’s important for the future health of our country.” - Josh, 4-H youth involved with this program.