Biodiesel machine, electric trucks aim to keep campus ‘green’

BY AMY WULFF
Cardinal Staff

Students may have seen the little red trucks driving around Saint Mary’s University’s campus, both on roads and on sidewalks, zipping around in their tiny truck way.

The red electric trucks were purchased by the Maintenance Department about three years ago in an effort to reduce gas costs and to provide quick and convenient transportation for campus personnel. Along with these little electric trucks, maintenance has recently purchased a biodiesel maker, which can take cooking oil from the cafeteria and convert it to diesel. Biodiesel production is relatively common, but it is a tricky process, and the first trial did not turn out so well. However, John Schollmeier, director of maintenance said, when production is done right, diesel expenditures could be cut in half. With approximately 250 gallons of diesel used each month, that would be significant.

Maintenance uses about 300 gallons of gasoline a month on the entire fleet of cars and electric trucks, and Schollmeier said the electric trucks can be given some credit for that. Schollmeier said the convenience of the tiny machines, which are stocked
with all the tools one might need to fix almost anything, allow them to be driven up to any building that needs fixing, and they are great to use when traveling around campus.

At night, the red trucks are plugged in. Their batteries are efficient and rarely break, giving them good record and usability ratings, said Schollmeier. With these little red trucks and the biodiesel machine, Schollmeier said maintenance hopes to reduce both the amount of money that goes toward fuel for their cars and ensure that SMU is kept beautiful and clean.