There will be lots of turkeys in the fryer during the holiday season and upcoming college football bowl games, and North Baldwin Utilities is asking area residents to recycle used cooking oil to protect the environment and help prevent sanitary sewer problems.

NBU partnered with Daphne Utilities in 2007 to create a residential grease recycling program which will supply Daphne with raw oil for recycling into fuel, according to Jason Padgett, NBU general manager. The conversion costs Daphne about $1 a gallon.

In return, Padgett said NBU customers can expect fewer blockages and sewer overflows, and decreased rates resulting from less equipment, manpower and maintenance costs.

Participation was sluggish in 2007, which generated about 400 gallons. This year, Padgett said participation has more than doubled.

“The recycling program is catching on,” Padgett said. “People are giving us oil weekly, and any gallon not on the ground or a landfill helps the environment.”

Grease is the main cause of sewage backup. Cooking grease is liquid until cooled, then turns to a jelly form and attaches to paper, sanitary napkins, plastics or anything else in the drain, creating blockages.

Padgett said residents outside the sewer system, or with residential septic tanks are participating in the recycling program.

“We are getting more and more calls from people in Perdido and Tensaw who want information about where to bring their used oil,” Padgett said.

The holiday season creates a spike in cooking oil usage, but Baldwin Countians are known for regular fish fries throughout the year, creating the potential for a constant supply of the fuel source.

Daphne Utilities began recycling cooking oil in 2003, and converts it to furl for various machinery. Used cooking oil also is biodegradable and can be composted with other food scraps.

The county’s landfills are accepting cooking oil and experimenting with conversion to fuel.

Riviera Utilities launched a program in August with the city of Foley and Wolf Bay Watershed Watch to recycle cooking grease and oils, according to general manager Mike Dugger.

Containers have the logo of the city of Foley, WBWW and Riviera Utilities for easy public identification.

Container bins are at Wal-Mart, Cain’s Piggly Wiggly, Winn Dixie and behind the Foley Civic Center. Customers also can pick up a container at the Riviera Utilities main office or Foley City Hall.

That program may expand to Elberta, Magnolia Springs and Summerdale.

The used cooking oil is collected from bins and transported to Orange beach for conversion to bio-diesel. Orange Beach also processes used oil collected in Gulf Shores.

If participation increases, Foley may purchase bio-diesel manufacturing equipment for in-house conversion, according to Leslie Lassiter, Foley’s environmental specialist.