Andrew Cooper

Andy Cooper of Footprint Recycling said his locked grease tanks are "constantly broken into and pilfered," at least two to three times a month.But he doesn't bother even bother calling the police anymore.

"I gave up on the whole cop-battling thing," he said."The cops don't do anything."

On three different occasions, the same thief took vegetable oil out of a Footprint Recycling grease tank at Cher-Ae Heights Casino.The thief was later identified in security tapes when police zoomed in on his face.However, Cooper said, the police told him that "a matter this small" wasn't worth their time.Cooper would have to take the guy to civil court and sue him because the police weren't charging him criminally.He didn't bother.

"I'm not going to waste that much time and money," he said.

Granted, unconverted vegetable oil in a barrel is worth a lot less than processed unleaded gasoline.But after it's converted into biodiesel, that grease is worth exactly as much as regular diesel â€" above $5.00 per gallon."Nobody reports stealing garbage," Cooper said.

Footprint's founder, Andy Cooper, made his first batch of biodiesel in a blender as an undergraduate at Humboldt State University (HSU).

On the cover: Andy Cooper of Footprint Recycling in Arcata.
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Such sentiments are music to the ears of Andy Cooper [photo below left] , Footprint's young, motivated owner.From its humble beginnings as Cooper's Humboldt State master's thesis four years ago, since opening its doors in early 2004 Footprint has grown into a decent- sized industrial operation, with a fleet of grease pickup vehicles and an equipment-filled warehouse on Arcata's West End Road.The company produces about 2,500 gallons of biodiesel a month, and Cooper wants to see that figure triple over the coming years.

In addition to showing every sign of being a savvy businessman, Cooper is an effective evangelist for his product and for the recycling ethos in general.On a tour of the facilities, he pointed out how Footprint had grown by adapting old pieces of machinery.Instead of buying an expensive walk-in refrigerator, he purchased an old refrigerated trailer and parked it in the yard, saving money and removing a big piece of junk from the waste stream.

"Seventy-five percent of the equipment that's used here at Footprint is salvaged out of the Eureka or Arcata recycling center, or out of local farms," he said.

Cooper wants to expand Footprint's biodiesel business to span the lengths of the county.He's already got contracts with dozens of local restaurants, charging them a nominal price for pickup of their used oil, which would otherwise be difficult to dispose of.He's in discussions with the North Coast Cooperative about installing a pump at its new store in Eureka, which is scheduled to be finished sometime next year.
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Cooper said that he was not aware of the new regulations, but that he would be contacting Sacramento to figure out what they were and how he would comply.

"Footprint is here to stay, and I want people to know about it," he said.
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People like Cooper and Kastrup say that part of the appeal is creating a fantastic product virtually out of nothing -- converting fields used for the production of food over to growing a fuel source doesn't necessarily feel like a step forward.

ANDREW COOPER, PARTNER, REX PROCTER & PARTNERS

Andrew Cooper, Partner 3 Blenheim Court LEEDS LS2 9AE Tel: 0113 243 3731 Email: a.cooper@rpp-leeds.co.uk

Andrew Cooper, Partner 3 Blenheim Court Leeds LS2 9AE Tel: 0113 243 3731 Email: a.cooper@rpp-leeds.co.uk

REX PROCTER AND PARTNERS ARE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER

Andrew Cooper , Partner

HSU graduate student and Footprint Recycling founder Andrew Cooper said to manufacture biodiesel they begin by heating waste vegetable oil and filtering it.The heated oil is mixed with lye, which is purchased as white flakes or pellets, and methanol, a colorless and poisonous alcohol, to trigger the chemical separation of refined oil from the glycerine and methanol.

In the process (known as transesterification), lye sets off the chemical reaction that creates the biofuel.After a two-week refining period, biodiesel floats to the top and can be siphoned off while the glycerine sinks to the bottom.Biodiesel's emissions are much lower than diesel or gasoline.Cooper said the oily fluid lubricates motors, is non-toxic and non-flammable, and offers a safe alternative to petroleum.
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The Depot, said food vendors on campus used to recycle the waste oil and fats through a rendering business but changed over to a partnership with Cooper as the local entrepreneur started up.
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Cooper said that by returning the finished product, biodiesel, to the area, it acts as an economic asset and localizes the environmental benefit of cleaner fuel.He said more than 70 percent of the production equipment-such as rusty oil drums-has been picked up from area waste piles and refurbished.

"From scrap yards and farm fields, we have brought in these eyesores of the community," Cooper said.

With his partners Greg Bender and Chad Christensen-Woods, Cooper said the business now serves Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties, as well as new interests in southern Oregon.
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Cooper said the demand for biodiesel far exceeds what Footprint currently supplies, and the pool of available waste oil from restaurants is shrinking with the mounting interest in biofuel.
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Although pure recycled biodiesel will never likely come close to meeting the energy consumption of an entire county, Cooper said it can be blended with basic diesel, resulting in cleaner combustion and reducing the pollutants generated from diesel engines without modifications.He said Footprint will offer two blends in the near future.