Brazil transforms waste palm oil into green energy

The waters of one of Brazil’s most visited cities are often stained by a reddish-orange liquid that flows around beachgoers, kayakers and turtles.

A new recycling initiative involving City Hall, state-run oil giant Petrobras and potentially thousands of vendors of a local delicacy aims to change that.

Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, is promoting the reuse of residual palm oil from its iconic acarajé fritters — African-inspired, shrimp-filled dumplings made with peeled black-eyed peas and onions and served with sauce.

The project aims eventually to transform up to 6 million liters of waste oil a year into energy.

Palm oil, known in Brazil as 'azeite de dendê', arrived on Bahia’s shores with enslaved Africans beginning in the 1530s, historians say.

It has since become a key ingredient not only in acarajé, but also in other local dishes, such as moqueca, a fish stew, and vatapá, a paste made with bread, shrimp, coconut milk and ground peanuts.

More than 3,500 women sell the traditional snack at stalls across Salvador, often called the “blackest city outside Africa.”

They are key to the project’s supply chain.

City Hall is encouraging hundreds of them to join by offering incentives and licenses intended to help their businesses operate in a more environmentally sound way.

Baianas can receive 3 Brazilian reais ($60 cents) for every liter of palm oil they turn in.

Sometimes, the cooperative also gives them soap made from recycled palm oil.

Baianas are adopting eco-friendly practices by recycling used palm oil, which historically clogged local sewage systems and polluted beaches when vendors discarded it to lighten their carts.