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] What does recycling the oil mean to restaurant owners?

选项 A、Having a bad image in the community.
B、Meeting requirement of the NPR.
C、Bearing more financial pressure.
D、Finding suitable theft-proof tools.

答案 C

解析 事实细节题。定位句指出这也意味着在经营捉襟见肘的情况下,餐馆老板们还要多花钱保存这些垃圾。由此可知,安全保管废弃食用油,使之能够再被利用的行为增加了餐饮经营者的经济压力,故答案为C)。
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