Westerly High Schoolers Give TGIF a Whole New Meaning

While many high school students (and, yes, us adults, too) see the abbreviation “TGIF” as a bright sign heralding the arrival of the weekend, Westerly high school sophomore Miles Temel and a group of five other students see it as a tagline for their mission to turn waste into our future energy solution. They formed the Westerly Innovations Network (or WIN Team) to jumpstart a plan called Project TGIF: Turn Grease Into Fuel.

Project TGIF works alongside local charities that specialize in families needing home heating, and then distributes those biofuels to each family, using collected waste cooking oils. Traveling literally world-wide from Washington DC to scenic Sweden, the WIN Team and the TGIF project have won awards across the board and have even been named a Young Wonder on CNN Heroes. At their current rate, Project TGIF has donated over 21,000 gallons of “bioheat” to local charities (the equivalent of over $81,000) to heat the homes of hundreds of local families.

According to Project TGIF, “some restaurants produce between 100 and 300 gallons of cooking [oils] per month.” Instead of restaurants paying companies to dispose of these oils, Project TGIF is partnering with Newport Biodiesel to create a system in which restaurants can sign up to donate cooking oils, process them and then donate proceeds to local surrounding charities for distribution.

During this season of endless clam cakes, fried clams and the like, Miles Temel sees the perfect opportunity to spread awareness that “there are many restaurants along the RI coast that use cooking oil for fried seafood, fries and other summer treats.” All of that is potential fuel that could be translated into heat for needy families in the subsequent winter months – and it seems a crime to waste it.

“While many restaurants along the coast support our project, we are always looking for ways to raise awareness and gain additional support,” says Miles. So, if you run a restaurant with excess cooking oil, call up Miles and the team, they’ve got you covered. For more information on how you or your food establishment can get involved or sign up, please visit the project's website or learn more about the WIN Team.