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  3. In today’s economy, it’s tough enough being a restaurant owner, but now you

In today’s economy, it’s tough enough being a restaurant owner, but now you

游客2024-02-03  17
问题     In today’s economy, it’s tough enough being a restaurant owner, but now you have to safeguard your garbage, too.
    From California to Maine, thefts of used cooking oil are on the rise—driven by the rising price of oil that makes biofuels more cost competitive with fossil fuels. Like thieves who ransack foreclosed homes for copper wire, higher prices for used cooking oil can attract people with a hunger for crime. The old cooking oil, which has been used for decades in the chemical and animal feed industries, is now a hot commodity, as biodiesel manufacturers fight for raw materials. Biodiesel is gaining in popularity as a transportation fuel. The largest consumers are fleet operators, including municipal buses and courier firms like FedEx. The last time cooking oil rustlers were so active was in the summer of 2008—the last time gasoline prices hit $ 4. High gas prices help explain the recent spate of thefts of used cooking oil in Essex, Mass.
    In many restaurants, cooking oil and other trash is often stowed away from the restaurant, for the most part, unguarded. Like at Essex’s Windward Grille. "The place is outside and open, anyone really could come and take it," said Vickie Kennesick, manager at the Windward Grille, one of three restaurants stripped of their oil last December. It’s in the open because it’s picked up with the rest of the recyclables, such as cardboard, glass and aluminum. Waste companies are currently selling the used oil for 15 cents per pound, vs. 5 cents per pound in 2005. All of this means security has become an issue for restaurant owners. The irony: despite having to pay more to secure their trash, restaurant owners don’t get paid for the old oil. Instead, they receive rebates off future oil purchases or waste removal.
    Often, the only benefit to recycling the oil is being a good citizen, helping to reduce the amount of waste in their communities, said Chris Moyer, senior program manager for environmental initiatives at the National Restaurant Association. " Our membership wants to recycle, they want to compost," he said. "One of our industry imperatives is(environmental)sustainability. " But good intentions are costing restaurants. Moyer has heard stories about restaurants having cooking oil stolen, and said the solution is to keep recyclables like cooking oil, "under lock and key, inside if possible. " This means restaurant owners will need to spend more in a tight economy. Indeed, restaurant suppliers say theft-proof lids for grease containers and locks for recycling bins have become popular items in the past year.
    Restaurant owners could avoid all this trouble and just pour the oil down the drain, but that wouldn’t be good for the environment, or the plumbing. So safe, responsible disposal of used cooking oil has become one more cost of doing business. For the most part, thieves are not big processors, but smaller producers. In fact, the oil collection and biodiesel refining sectors are still dominated by small operators, and this fragmentation could be spurring more thefts. And because biodiesel recipes are readily available online, do-it-yourselfers who’ve converted their cars to biodiesel are often on the prowl for used cooking oil. And while used oil may be the hot new thing for crooks, NRA’s Moyer said these crimes of opportunity " will always be with us. " [br] Why does the used cooking oil become a lure for thieves?
选项 A、Because high living cost leads to the shortage of food.
B、Because animal owners want to save cost on their feed.
C、Because waste cooking oil is a good source of biofuels.
D、Because it is a good raw material for chemical industries.
答案 C
解析 细节判断题。定位句指出从加州到缅因州，废食用油被盗现象呈上升势头——随着油价上涨，生物燃料较之化石燃料的成本优势愈加明显，由此可知，废弃食用油的价格上涨是因为可以用于制造生物燃料，从而成为盗贼的目标，故答案为C)。
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