MINNEAPOLIS — You can't have fried food without oil, and when the oil gets old and dirty, it often ends up in a dumpster behind the restaurant.

That used oil is more valuable than you might think.

The oil is often used to make biofuel. According to the American Soybean Association, used cooking oil is worth about 40 cents a pound. Liquid Recovery Solutions, a grease recycling company, says the global market for used cooking oil in 2023 was worth more than $7 billion and that number is expected to double in the coming years.

Criminals are taking advantage of that growing demand by stealing used cooking oil from restaurants. Maplewood Police have investigated a handful of cases in the Twin Cities metro.

An employee at Great Moon Buffet in Maplewood tells KARE 11 News that managers discov

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