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About Us

We’ve been a Portland leader in recycling since 1975.

The Cloudburst history

Cloudburst has been committed to energy recovery, recycling, and resource conservation since 1975, innovating and re-shaping the recycling industry for over 40 years. Cloudburst was established to serve our community and promote recycling as a way to protect our environment and conserve resources and energy. It is important to us for our company to minimize its energy footprint.

In order to utilize green energy, Cloudburst installed a large 23.9kW solar array in 2009. This is now our principal source of electrical power. Our grease trap and oil recycling program is also guided and motivated by that same dedication.

Old Route Cloudburst Recycling grease trap cleaning Portland OR
Cloudburst Recycling in 1975 grease trap cleaning Portland OR
Cloudburst Recycling in 1975 on recycling route
The “Cloudburst” name helps to symbolize our commitment to preserving the natural water cycle. Grease trap cleaning and cooking oil recovery is an important part of this, helping us to protect our water cycle from human pollution.

The image of the “cloudburst” suggests the impending release of pent-up awareness of environmental health, the understanding of human relationship to and reverence for all beings in the web of life; embodying a restoration of balance. We love “closing the loop”, recovering waste for the benefit of our shared environment.

In 2007, Cloudburst started our used cooking oil recycling program. We realized that we could power our garbage and recycling fleet with non-fossil fuel, clean burning biodiesel made from waste cooking oil collected from our restaurant customers. That solved the paradox of exhausting polluting diesel truck emissions into the atmosphere while performing a recycling service meant to improve our environment. Recovering waste oil from our customers to power our collection fleet was a perfect closed loop with no need for foreign oil or domestic fracking!

We established and financed the Oregon Biodiesel Workshop to experiment making low tech biodiesel reactors and producing our own biodiesel. OBW held workshops to help people convert their vehicles to run on straight vegetable oil (SVO). Next, we provided all our cooking oils to Bootstrap Biodiesel, which continued biodiesel experimentation, then became a certified biodiesel producer ourselves.

Currently all our refined biodiesel feedstock goes to a local third party for biodiesel production, and we re-purchase fuel for use in our own trucks.

We are local to Portland, family owned and operated. If you are committed to improving the environment with affordable solutions to your grease trap maintenance and oil recycling needs – contact Cloudburst Recycling today.

Cloudburst Recycling

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