A Wake County town is trying to make it easier for you to get rid of holiday cooking oil and grease while being environmentally sensitive.

This holiday season the Town of Cary will offer a grease pick-up service as part of a two-month pilot program. The oil and grease collected will be turned into biofuel. Donald Smith, a Cary Utility Pretreatment Technician, said the town will pick up minimum half-gallon sealable containers of animal fat and cooking oil if residents set up an appointment.

"We want to give citizens the opportunity to beneficially dispose of their cooking oils rather than pouring it down the drain or throwing it out in the garbage and possibly ending up in a landfill," Smith said.

All of the collected oil and grease will be converted to biodiesel at a biofuel plant in Wilson, said Zack Hamm of Triangle Biofuels. He said it takes about three to four hours to complete the process.

"We'll take it and sell it [to] anybody from the daily driver who wants to run their diesel car all the way up to petroleum distributors," Hamm said. "I think people are realizing this is something we really should be doing."

County vehicles in Cary are already running on a blend of bio-diesel fuel. Smith said if the grease and oil collection program is successful your garbage could be used to fuel them in the future.

"Possibly, if we can yes," Smith said.

The program runs through Jan. 30, 2009. If you're interested in taking part, the Town of Cary has released the following guidelines:

1. Place waste cooking oils/grease in a sealable container that previously contained a food product.

2. Label container "Waste Cooking Oil", and secure the cap/lid to prevent spillage.

3. Call the Public Works & Utilities Customer Service line at 469-4090 to schedule a pick up (minimum pickup 1/2 gallon waste oils/grease during pilot program) 4. Place waste cooking oil at the curb by 7 a.m. on day of scheduled collection.

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