Felipe Ogoy runs General Biodiesel’s operations in Juneau, Alaska. General Biodiesel began collecting used cooking oil from businesses in Juneau in the fall of 2013. The collections will save the city about $500,000 per year, according to the Juneau Economic Development Council. Ogoy is the Regional Manager of Alaska, General Biodiesel, Inc.
International Examiner: What led you to General Biodiesel?
Felipe Ogoy: I live in a small town Juneau, Alaska, which has a population of 30,000 people. We care about the environment, but there’s not a whole lot of opportunity in green company up here. When my childhood friend Yale Wong from Seattle came to visit me for a fishing trip one year, he told me all the exciting news about General Biodiesel he was doing in Seattle. I immediately wanted to be a part of it and make a difference on reducing green house gases and making an alternative fuel.
I said, “I can help.” He said, “We need used cooking oil and lots of it.”
I told him I could start a used cooking oil collection program here in Alaska. The next thing that month he shipped me a up a flat bed truck, registered General Biodiesel in Juneau, and I was collecting used cooking oil from the local restaurants in Juneau and signed a deal with the Juneau’s public works department to be the official grease collector of Juneau.
IE: What’s your experience been like at General Biodiesel?
Ogoy: Yale has a good eye for picking good talent. He looks for passionate people, hungry and happy to work. I don’t work in Seattle and only know a few people that work at the Seattle Operations and I notice they are all good people. I only report to Yale, so far he has been great to work with and makes work fun.
IE: Would you please describe something that has changed since General Biodiesel was first founded?
Ogoy: I just started last year and don’t know too much about the business before, but it seems like the company is rapidly growing and found its place on the west coast as a real deal energy player. I have noticed and learned since I first started that so many people and businesses dump used cooking oil down the drain. They don’t have to discard oil down their drains, we can pickup for free and they can do their part on saving the planet and make a difference. I am more conscious today on recycling and where America gets its energy from and what countries we buy petroleum from. It concerns me.
