Processing Plant in Smithtown, Operating Since October 2010, Raising Some Questions

By Phil Forte

SMITHTOWN – Less than a year old, the Eco-Friendly Services’ (EFS) processing plant in Smithtown is receiving attention from residents and officials in the Town.

The plant*, which opened last August, is located in an industrial area at 168 Townline Road.  EFS contract’s with restaurants to purchase their used cooking oil for the purpose of recycling and reprocessing.  After reprocessing, the used cooking oil is sold to businesses burning No. 2 and No. 4 oil for the production of heat and electricity.

One of the more prominent issues with the plant is the possible consequences it may have on the environment, with regards to air pollution.  “What are the byproducts of this [processing plant]? There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered,” said Frank DeRubeis, Director of the Smithtown Planning and Community Development Department. “If you’re refining something there’s going to be questions. Where does that stuff go? What chemicals do you use? How will you store them in a given process? Those are the kind of things we are interested in.”

The process of recycling cooking oil, involves collecting used oil then discharging the oil into a container through a filter screen, heating such oil to 110 degrees Fahrenheit thereby separating the water from the oil and other contaminants.

The oil is collected by tanker trucks, which transport the oil from restaurants to the EFS plant on Townline Road.  EFS pays these restaurants by the gallon for their discarded oil. This process reportedly uses no additional chemicals and in turn,the finished product lessens the amount of sulfur in the air, making the oil more environmentally friendly than diesel or any other gas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sulfur is a major air pollutant and has significant impacts in human health.

“The reprocessed oil isn’t putting sulfur into the atmosphere,” said Bruce Ettenberg, President of the Commack Civic Association, who visited the plant last Sunday for the first time. “It’s a small plant and it operates with out workers or staff.” (Truckers load and unload product)

“It’s safer. The containment around the area prevents any outside contamination if a spill were to take place,” Ettenberg added. “There is no smell or outside emission.”

One major issue with the plant raising eyebrows in Smithtown is the possible zoning violations the plant may house.  According to an application submitted to the Department of Environmental Conservation, “The applicant proposes to operate a Used Cooking Oil Processing Facility within a 1,000 sq. ft. area inside an existing building on an existing industrial site. Operations consist of straining out particulate matter and then removing water from the oil to establish the finished product, which is then shipped off site.”

“There has been no permit filed for a change of use on site,” DeRubeis said. “We are pro-green. Whether it’s wind, recycling or alternate fuels or things like that, we are supportive of those kind of things but at the same time we want to take a hard look and make sure that everything is done correctly.”

The town has yet to comment on any possible zoning violations.  ESS has not yet responded to Smithtown Matters’ inquiry.  

Update on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 2:42PM by .

* Correction - The processing plant has been open since October of 2010.