Disneyland to use recycled cooking oil to power railroad, riverboat

CNBC is reporting that Imagineers at Disneyland have come up with a way to recycle cooking oil to power the Disneyland Railroad and the Mark Twain Riverboat. In addition, the company is using compressed natural gas to fuel the guest trams. This is all part of Disneyland's innovative environmental initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

"These initiatives demonstrate Disneyland Resort's ongoing commitment to balancing environmental stewardship throughout our operations," said Michael O'Grattan, senior vice president of resort operations. "These are just a few steps in our ongoing journey to reduce Disneyland Resort's environmental footprint." Used Cooking Oil Fuels Disneyland Railroad Beginning this week, the Disneyland Railroad is being fueled by a special biodiesel made from recycled cooking oil used throughout the Resort. "We have been recycling our used kitchen grease for years, but this innovation takes recycling to another level," said Frank Dela Vara, Disneyland Resort's director of environmental affairs and conservation. "Now the oil used to cook French Fries and other foods is processed to power our Disneyland Railroad and our Mark Twain Riverboat. This move allows the Resort to save approximately 200,000 gallons of petroleum diesel per year." The Disneyland Railroad's five trains have been using a soy-based biodiesel since April 2007. The B99.9 used cooking oil-based biodiesel will continue to reduce emissions by up to 80 percent. Disneyland Resort's Mark Twain Riverboat also will begin using the new biodiesel within the next few weeks.

No word yet on when these initiatives may make their way over to Walt Disney World.