Resorts’ kitchens keep school buses cooking

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

Leftover fryer grease and recycled cooking oil from Strip resorts and area restaurants are helping to fuel Clark County's school buses, as part of a larger effort to reduce pollutants and emissions.

As of Sept. 1 nearly all of the Clark County School District's 1,134 buses were operating on biodiesel, a combination of pure diesel mixed with used vegetable cooking oil. Only 47 buses that run in outlying areas have not made the switch.

Diesel engines are a major source of particle pollution in Las Vegas Valley air. Numerous studies have linked high pollution levels to an increased risk of everything from asthma to heart attacks. Federal agencies, as well as Nevada lawmakers, have been cracking down on heavy polluters while encouraging the switch to more air-friendly sources of fuel.

The fuel costs the district about 10 cents a gallon more than regular diesel, Richard Ennes, the school district's business manager, said. But school district officials say they have an obligation to do what they can to improve the air, given that it affects students' health.

"It costs a little more, but we're reducing emissions significantly," Ennes said. "The school district is a member of this community, and we have a responsibility to help clean up our environment."

The school district's supplier is Biodiesel Industries, which has plants in Las Vegas and Pahrump. The company is one of only six biodiesel suppliers in the United States and the only producer in the West. The company also provides biodiesel to the cities of Henderson and Las Vegas, the Clark County Health District and the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

The school district first began using the fuel in a small number of vehicles in the summer of 2001. The pilot study was so successful that the program was expanded to all of the district's vehicles with diesel engines, including pickup trucks, station wagons and sedans, Ennes said.

Frank Giordano, garage manager for the district's transportation department, said there have been few glitches associated with switching the fleet to biodiesel. District mechanics have noticed fuel filters appear to wear out more quickly with biodiesel and must be replaced more often, Giordano said.

"Changing fuel filters isn't a huge problem," Giordano said. "It's worth it for the benefits we get."

Ron Smolinski, project manager for the Clark County Air Quality District, praised school administrators for switching to biodiesel fuel. While the new fuel doesn't eliminate emissions, it's "an excellent start," Smolinski said.

"Biodiesel is certainly cleaner, and that means healthier air for all of us," Smolinski said.

The Air Quality District is about to begin an inventory of the sources of pollution in the Las Vegas Valley, Smolinski said. A similar study in 1999 found diesel-powered on-road and off-road vehicles contributed 55.5 percent of the more than 3,200 tons of particles detected in the air that year. Other pollution sources include fireplaces, gardening equipment, aircraft jet fuel and gasoline-powered vehicles.