Used Cooking Oil Stolen from Sal's Pizza

Used cooking oil, valued by police at $1,000, was stolen from the rear outside area of , South Whitehall police said.

The used cooking oil, which police say is valuable because of its reuse as an alternative fuel for vehicles, was reported stolen from a container on June 4.

"It's not right," owner Sal Anselmo said. "These things shouldn't happen."

As biodiesel gains popularity as a transportation fuel, thefts of used cooking oil have been on the rise across the country, according to a report published earlier this year on cnbc.com. Long used in chemical and animal feed industries, it has become a "hot commodity" in the biodiesel field as gas prices have risen, the report says. 

Anselmo said the used cooking oil was in a locked steel container and crate outside the rear of his business, located at 4767 Tilghman St., in the shopping plaza. The lock was cut and the used cooking oil apparently siphoned, he said. "This is not the first time it's happened," he said.

He was not sure how many pounds of used cooking oil was taken, though the restaurant changes out 300 pounds of cooking oil every other day. Police put the value of the stolen used cooking oil at $1,000.

The investigation is continuing.

Anselmo says his used cooking oil goes to AROSE, the Association for Restaurant Owners for a Sustainable Earth. He was not immediately sure how much money he receives back. AROSE recycles used cooking oil as a renewable energy and organic fertilizer, according to its website.

Anselmo knows the used cooking oil is attractive as an alternative fuel source. When gas prices have soared in the past, he said, he would get calls from people wanting to buy it from him.