New York state environmental agency awards Buffalo Biodiesel Part 360 permit
Buffalo Biodiesel Inc., a recycler of used cooking oil (UCO) and producer of feedstocks supplied to renewable diesel and renewable natural gas (RNG) plants, announced Sept. 28 the receipt of its Part 360 permit* from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The company said it invested nearly $3 million in facility upgrades at its Tonawanda, New York, processing plant to achieve this regulatory milestone.
“Now that the Tonawanda site has been fully permitted by the DEC, the company can resume its multimillion-dollar development of the property and its expansion versus out-of-state development,” said Frank Balon, the president of Buffalo Biodiesel. “We appreciate the support of the local community, the governor’s office, the office of the Erie County executive, and the office of the supervisor of the town of Tonawanda for supporting our vision of environmental stewardship and responsible corporate management. We wish to thank the Clean Air Coalition, which helped bring community awareness to our permitting process and environmental missions. Clean air is a human right that we all believe in.”
This regulatory achievement follows Buffalo Biodiesel’s announcement that the company renewed its Part 364 waste-transporter permit from DEC, authorizing the company to transport UCO across New York state for processing at its Tonawanda facility.
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo Biodiesel currently serves more than 30,000 restaurants across 15 states, operating what it says is one of the largest UCO-collection networks in the Northeastern United States.
The company said it is still actively executing a major strategic expansion from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Miami, Florida.
According to Buffalo Biodiesel, in 2025 alone the company collected and recycled approximately 31,900 tons of UCO.
Under New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act greenhouse-gas accounting standards, diverting that material prevented an estimated 7,975 tons of methane emissions, which is equivalent to approximately 685,850 tons of carbon dioxide.
This yields a climate impact roughly the same as removing 149,100 passenger vehicles from the road for one year, the company stated.
*Editor’s Note: In New York, UCO-processing facilities are considered solid-waste management facilities under the state’s Part 360 Solid Waste Management Program, meaning they must obtain a Part 360 permit to operate legally.
