Over the past month, restaurants from Lake Oswego, Oregon to Louisville, Kentucky have reported a wave of used cooking oil (UCO) thefts. The crime spree is riding the back of US UCO prices sitting near three-year highs.
In Lake Oswego, Momo Sushi & Grill owner Kevin Long told KATU his shared bin has been drained at least twice in three months, losing about 200 gallons in a single stretch. Oregon Oils, the recycler servicing the bins, has been alerting vendors to cut locks and broken keypads since March.
Louisville-based VOCARS is seeing the same pattern at scale. General manager Jay Ford told WDRB that drivers running Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio routes now find four or five empty tanks on every 22-to-24 stop day.
This isn't opportunistic. It's organized.
Federal investigators last year wrapped a five-state operation that seized $27 million in cash, 150 vehicles, and 26 warehouses tied to one grease-theft ring. The North American Renderers Association estimates the industry loses $300 million to $500 million a year to UCO theft, and that's only what's reported.
Why now
Bulk UCO is trading near three-year highs. Renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producers are competing for every available gallon. The higher the curb price, the better the math for organized rings hauling 300-gallon portable tanks out of strip malls at 4 a.m.
This isn't only a US problem. Across countries like the Netherlands and Scotland, snack bars and restaurants have reported a wave of overnight thefts since early 2026, with crews using vehicle-mounted pumps to drain outdoor tanks. In the UK, the practice is estimated to cost the Treasury roughly £25 million a year in lost duty.
How the industry is responding
Collectors are hardening their assets. VOCARS says it will spend roughly $600,000 this year on anti-theft containers and a private detective, while still bracing for $300,000 to $400,000 in additional losses.
Ace Grease Service rolled out a new security lid in April designed to defeat the homemade pumps thieves use to drain tanks.
Eazy Grease, which collects across the East Coast, now implements sensors and cameras to help combat grease piracy.
Onken and Metal Kraft Containers are innovating tank design, engineering new units built to deter and prevent siphoning.
For restaurants, the damage isn't only operational. Waste-oil rebates are a small revenue stream, meaning a broken-in container hits the pockets of food service operators.
What it means for us
When the price of UCO climbs, the incentive to steal it climbs faster. Collectors who haven't hardened their containers are no longer competing only with other haulers. They're competing with crews running multi-state logistics on stolen feedstock.
For collectors and haulers, the next 12 months will be defined by upfront security spend and by how aggressively these grease thieves are punished.
The price signal is doing what it always does. The question is whether locks, lids, audits, and prosecutions keep up.
