The WIN Team

The Westerly Innovations Network

The Junior WIN Team:

T.G.I.F.

                Project T.G.I.F—Turning Grease into Fuel, aims to recycle used cooking oil into biodiesel to help heat needy people’s home in Westerly.

                The idea was first initiated after reading an article in The Westerly Sun about the WARM shelter’s A Dollar A Week campaign to raise funds for heating assistance in Westerly.  At the same time, we knew of the growing problem of global warming and the emissions produced by conventional petroleum based fuels.  We looked for a solution to this problem through recycling cooking oil.

                Some restaurants may produce between 100 and 300  gallons of cooking oil per month.  These restaurants then pay a company to dispose of the oil.  Instead, we envisioned a system where companies would donate their oil to be recycled, and some of the oil recycled would be donated to the WARM shelter for heating assistance.

                Our project has the goal of raising awareness about the possibility of recycling cooking oil as well as creating a sustainable system to recycle the cooking oil.  We worked with the GreaseGuys and Mason Biodiesel to create a system where we would sign up restaurants to give them used cooking oil, and they would process the oil and then donate a portion to the WARM shelter, which would distribute the oil to the families on their lists for heating assistance.

                We made a presentation to the Town Council to establish a cooking oil container at the Westerly Transfer Station so that residents as well as restaurants could donate their cooking oil to be recycled.

                We met with the Reverend Jean Barry, the executive director of the WARM shelter, to earn more about the situation this winter, as well as what the WARM shelter does for our community.  We were able to find out a way in which our work could directly help the WARM shelter and our community.

                In addition, we met with Mr. Ryan Mason of Mason Biodiesel to learn about the biodiesel recycling process.  The team analyzed different types of oil for their potential output in biodiesel and learned more about what happens to the biodiesel we recycle.

                We have also travelled to and signed up 42 restaurants to participate in our program.

                We have just won a Disney Minnie Grant and a Youth Venture Seed Grant to fund and support our project. 

                On March 9th, 2009, the team presented both the Bradford Johnnycake Center and the Westerly Area Rest Meals (WARM Center)  with 1,000 gallons of Bioheat® each to distribute to recipients of emergency heating assistance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on a brochure thumbnail to enlarge.

The Jr. WIN Team also travelled to Michigan State University in May to compete in a CmPS (Community Problem Solving Program) competition. In our division, we received a 4th place award.

The team was also asked by the Ashoka’s Youth Venture Organization to be documented in their MTV Switch Campaign, which is a huge honor, as Project T.G.I.F was the only project in the country to be filmed. The MTV Switch Campaign features projects from 5 countries, and will air in November in Europe, South America, and Asia, and air in the United States early next year.

Future Plans

In the future, our team plans to mandate the use of B5 (Biodiesel 5%) in all marine vessels in RI. Other states have already taken such actions. The WIN Team is also trying to expand Project T.G.I.F by reaching out to more restaurants in neighboring towns, such as Narragansett, Stonington, and Mystic. We are reaching these other towns by partnering with MASH (Mystic Area Shelter and Hospitality). We have also gained the support of the Narragansett Town Council, who hope to implement Project T.G.I.F as well as install a biodiesel pump station in Narragansett.  We are also planning  to work with the mayor of Warwick, who will hopefully help us to implement TGIF through the Warwick school system.

WIN team activities