Deep-fried foods may be bad for one's health, but the Southern tradition soon could benefit East Ridge's bottom line.

Residents will hear more tonight about a plan to make a biodiesel fuel additive from discarded cooking oil. City leaders say the program, which could be in place by the spring, will produce a fuel additive for the city's fleet of diesel trucks.

The additive is supposed to burn cleaner, save money in gas purchases and qualify East Ridge for federal tax credits, city officials said.

"Our council has been very progressive when it comes to green initiatives," City Manager William Whitson said. "This is one of those programs where we can turn talking into doing."

The city plans to run its biodiesel program on a shoestring budget. Just one person will run it, and start-up costs are estimated to be about $18,000, Mr. Whitson said. The city qualifies for a tax credit of between 50 cents and $1 for every gallon of biodiesel produced, he said.

The entire biodiesel-making operation will be housed in a tow-behind trailer, officials said. That's mostly because East Ridge's current motor pool building is in a flood plain, but city leaders also want to make the entire operation mobile so it could be taken to local schools for science and environmental lessons.

The city hired Kevin Verro earlier this year to start up the biodiesel program. Mr. Verro was recruited from Florida, where he was helping with a similar effort in Alachua County, Florida, a beachside suburb of Jacksonville.

Mr. Verro said the program didn't take hold there because the county was too big and had too many fleet vehicles, but East Ridge's small size makes it well suited for the program. Just 35 pieces of equipment -- including tractors, grass cutters and big trucks -- are powered with diesel fuel.

"We will be the first, as far as we can tell, community in eastern Tennessee to do this," Mr. Verro said.

It's a surprisingly affordable option, Mr. Whitson added.

The city, with Mr. Verro's guidance, will construct its own biodiesel-producing equipment. The main expense will be tied to gallon-sized cooking oil containers the city wants to provide to residents and 30- to 55-gallon drum containers for restaurants. Drop-off points for residents will be scattered throughout the city, and non-residents can turn in oil, too, Mr. Whitson said.

"We've already talked to a number of local restaurants that are very interested in helping," Mr. Whitson said, noting that many chain restaurants sell their waste oil to large-scale private biodiesel firms, so they won't be included in the East Ridge effort. Smaller establishments usually have to pay to have their oil collected. East Ridge neither plans to pay for nor charge to collect oil.

Other entities such as the City of Chattanooga, Hamilton County and the University of Tennessee already are using a biodiesel blend in their large vehicles, but East Ridge will be the first municipality here to brew the fuel itself and mix it with traditional diesel gas, Mr. Verro said.

City leaders say the biodiesel operation is a win-win, both reducing the amount of oil that goes into landfills and city sewers and helping to reduce fuel costs.

"This effort really touches just about ever segment of city services. We've heard from other cities that they have even seen a reduction in roadkill," Mr. Verro said, explaining that waste oil drips from trash trucks, causing animals to gather on roadways where they are hit by vehicles.

PDF: East Ridge biodiesel program update

IF YOU GO

Hear a presentation on East Ridge's biodiesel program at Thursday's City Council meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. in City Hall, 1517 Tombras Ave.

BY THE NUMBERS

* 35 pieces of diesel equipment in the East Ridge fleet

* 5,000 to 6,000 gallons of diesel used monthly

* $18,000 allotted to start the biodiesel program this year

Source: City of East Ridge