Fueling Outreach & Sustainability 

Ve’ahavta and Green Planet Biofuels’ Powerful Partnership 

 
At Ve’ahavta, our way of improving the world is through giving people the support and skills they need to overcome poverty and lead thriving, independent lives. One person at a time. Our beloved partner of the last four years, Green Planet Biofuels, is focused on creating sustainable positive change in the world in a different way – by healing the planet. One liter of recycled oil at a time.

Toronto-based Green Planet Biofuels, founded in 2008, started with a simple idea: waste cooking oil doesn’t have to go to waste. As a former cook and early biodiesel advocate, Steve Hyman, the company’s founder, discovered that if purified properly, used fryer oil could power diesel vehicles—and Green Planet Biofuels has been collecting and repurposing it ever since.

The company services over 6,000 restaurants and venues across Ontario, including major institutions like Scotiabank Arena, as well as countless mom-and-pop kitchens and chip trucks.

So, what does this mean for Ve’ahavta?

Every year, Green Planet Biofuels generously sponsors the fuel for our outreach vans—the very vans that travel across Toronto delivering food, hygiene supplies, and compassionate support to individuals facing homelessness. Thanks to this sponsorship, our mobile outreach program operates more sustainably, both environmentally and financially.

But that’s not all. Green Planet also services our kitchen grease traps, an essential, city-mandated process that ensures oils and fats don’t clog municipal wastewater systems. Once that grease is collected, it goes through one of two remarkable transformations:

• Clean fryer oil is refined into biodiesel, which Green Planet supplies for use in vehicles— including our vans and many others across the province.
• Grease trap waste, which isn’t clean enough for biodiesel, is sent to anaerobic digesters. There, bacteria break it down and generate renewable electricity—some of which powers places like the Toronto Zoo in a system affectionately dubbed “Zoo Poo.”

It’s a full-circle solution: waste from our kitchen and others help fuel our vehicles and power parts of the city.

Steve Hyman, a long-time supporter of Ve’ahavta, is motivated by more than just environmental impact. “I love seeing Jewish values shine through Ve’ahavta’s wonderful work. I’m inspired to be involved with a Jewish organization that is living the credo of being a light unto the nations and helping to make the world better for people of all faiths.”

From sponsoring our fuel to keeping our kitchen running clean, Green Planet Biofuels has become an integral part of the Ve’ahavta family. We are proud of this powerful partnership. Stay tuned to our social media accounts for photos and stories revealing the details of how, together, we’re fueling impact and change.