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Market of Choice's kitchens offer high quality foods made from scratch. They use only the best ingredients, right down to the cooking oil. So what happens to all that oil after it's used?

As part of its sustainability efforts and support of local vendors, Market of Choice partnered with Encore Oils, a subsidiary of SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel, which now collects about 140 gallons of used oil per month. It is then transferred to the SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel plant in Salem, Ore.

From there, it is processed into biodiesel and distributed around the state. Creating biodiesel in place of petroleum diesel reduces the production of carbon dioxide by 89 percent.

Essentially, this used cooking oil helps reduce dependence on foreign oil and decreases greenhouse gas emissions. Further, the biodiesel produced contains 89 percent less CO2 than petroleum diesel and helps reduce the negative health impact from automobile tailpipe emissions.

The best part? Market of Choice's partnership with Encore Oils ensures that all transfer processes and resulting fuel remain in the state, keeping dollars in the region and helping the local economy.

This effort is significant because most used cooking oil is controlled by large corporations that ship the product overseas for use in makeup production or livestock feed. The unused portion is often placed into landfills, contaminating water supply.

To support this full-circle effort, you can fuel up at your local SeQuential station or shop your Market of Choice knowing that many of the products on its shelves are delivered by trucks powered by biodiesel - now that's full circle!