Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions (Filta), an industry leader in providing efficient, environmentally forward services to commercial kitchens, proudly announces a significant milestone: the recycling of 1 billion pounds of used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel. This achievement underscores Filta’s commitment to sustainability and its innovative solutions that have transformed tens of thousands of commercial and restaurant kitchens across North America since the brand began franchising in 2002.
Filta’s unique service model enhances commercial kitchen operations by micro-filtering cooking oil, deep cleaning fryers, and offering bin-free waste oil collection, all while ensuring the waste oil is recycled into biodiesel fuel. The company’s dedication to sustainability is evident, as every gallon of biodiesel used prevents 16 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. This monumental effort over two decades has resulted in a total carbon dioxide offset equivalent to planting 135 million trees.
Filta’s extensive efforts have resulted in significant environmental savings across multiple categories:
- Land: 1,904,761 acres saved
- Water: 1,344,670 gallons saved
- Pesticides: 2,144,765 pounds reduced
- Fertilizer: 80,000,000 pounds reduced
- Diesel: 7,619,047 gallons saved
- Gasoline: 2,400,000 gallons saved
- Electricity: 12,609,523 kWh saved
- Natural Gas: 111,257,142 cubic feet saved
These savings demonstrate Filta’s substantial contribution to reducing the environmental impact of the food service industry. Notably, these carbon offset efforts are equivalent to reducing 640 million pounds of carbon emissions from fuel.
The packaging and transport savings alone include the reduction of over 34 million pounds of plastic and over 22 million pounds of cardboard. Additionally, by reducing the need for new oil and leading the way on repurposing used cooking oil into biodiesel, Filta helps drive the overall carbon footprint of its clients even lower. The company’s efforts have reduced nearly 4 million pounds of greenhouse gasses and saved 57 million pounds in packaging materials.
By collecting and contributing 1 billion pounds of used cooking oil to the biodiesel stream over more than two decades, Filta’s significant impact of replacing traditional diesel with biodiesel include:
- Particulate Matter (PM) Reduction: 666,666 pounds
- Hydrocarbon (HC) Reduction: 746,666 pounds
- Carbon Monoxide (CO) Reduction: 7,413,333 pounds
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Reduction: 586,666 pounds
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Reduction: 2,713,333,333 pounds
John Michals, Filta’s chief operating officer, attributes this remarkable achievement to the collective efforts of Filta’s extensive network of franchise owners and their teams. “Since our early days, our mission has been clear: extend the life of cooking oil through microfiltration and professional fryer cleaning, which will ultimately contribute to a reduction in waste, lowering of food costs and boosting sustainability,” he said. “The 1-billion-pound milestone is a testament to the hard work of our franchise owners and their ultimate dedication to the Filta customers we service.”
Filta’s services are utilized in a variety of settings, including restaurants, hospitals, hotels, universities, casinos, business facilities, entertainment venues, professional sports stadiums and more. By utilizing sound processes that have been refined over more than two decades, Filta ensures that cooking oil recycling is both safe and efficient across all these environments.
“The franchise teams are our foundation and, as a support center, our corporate role is to provide them with the very best in technology, tools and training so that they may confidently execute on the services they provide to our nearly 10,000 Filta clients,” said Michals. “We believe that properly prepared teams directly correlate to properly executed services. Whether we are filtering oil onsite, cleaning a deep fryer or removing waste oil when it’s time to finally discard it, Filta believes that our franchise owners are the best in the business when it comes to providing safe, efficient, clean and environmentally forward services.”
The environmental benefits of Filta’s operations are massive. By reducing the need for new oil and repurposing used oil into biodiesel, Filta helps lower the overall carbon footprint of its clients.
“For every gallon of biodiesel we help to produce, we reduce our reliance on petroleum-based products,” Michals said. “This is a critical step towards a more sustainable future, and while we’ve been doing this for over 20 years, we’re really just getting started”
Looking ahead, Filta remains focused on expanding its brand and continuing to promote sustainability within the food service industry. The company is committed to enhancing its awareness, servicing new kitchens and increasing its impact on reducing carbon footprints.
“Every fryer we service is an opportunity to drive sustainability,” said Michals. “As we grow and serve more customers, the cumulative effect of our efforts will result in a deeply positive impact on the environment.”
