In an effort to help control the theft of waste kitchen grease, Virginia’s General Assembly has passed legislation (House Bill 1322) that requires any person who transports waste kitchen grease to register with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services unless that person qualifies for an exemption for limited conversion to biofuel for personal use. Registrants must pay annual fees of $100 for registration and $100 per vehicle used to transport waste kitchen grease.
The law requires commercial transporters of waste kitchen grease to show proof of personal injury and property damage liability insurance in an amount not less than $1 million. All registered transporters must conspicuously mark vehicles used for transportation and maintain records showing the source and quantity of waste kitchen grease obtained and the renderer or other processor to whom the grease is delivered.
Registration may be suspended or revoked for selling waste grease to an unregistered transporter, accepting waste grease from an unregistered transporter, accepting stolen grease, or stealing, contaminating, or damaging any grease container or grease.
The Department of Agriculture may assess a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for any violation of a provision in this law’s chapter, including the prohibition that no person shall take possession of more than 55 gallons of waste kitchen grease from an unregistered transporter unless the recipient maintains documentation for two years. Those documents shall be made available for inspection by the department, and must contain the name and address of the person delivering the waste kitchen grease, date of receipt of the waste kitchen grease, delivering vehicle’s license plate number and state of registration, and quantity delivered.
As of press time, the bill was awaiting Governor Bob McDonnell’s signature.
On behalf of Virginia renderer Valley Proteins, Inc., delegate Beverly Sherwood sponsored the bill and worked toward its passage. The bill follows similar legislation in California that has been in place since 1995.
April 2010 RENDER | back
