GOSHEN -- What do french fries, new diesel equipment and Earth Day have in common?

At Goshen College, it's the idea of "going green with grease," something showcased Tuesday to mark Earth Day.

While the thought of green grease doesn't sound appetizing, it drew a group of people to check out the college's new student-created biodiesel plant and to eat some fries.

"Here was a chance to combine education with something that'll be immediately useful on campus," said Glenn Gilbert, utilities director for the college.

The biodiesel plant takes used cooking grease from the college dining hall and turns it into fuel. Students Nate Herr, Sae Chan Lee, Mitch Yoder and Neil Detweiler designed and built the plant.

The group said Doug Schirch, associate professor of chemistry, got them interested in the concept.

Schirch "got us interested in taking this to a larger scale," Yoder said.

"It's very elaborate, what they built," Schirch said.

Their efforts represent the first step the campus' new ecological stewardship committee took last year after GC President Jim Brenneman signed onto the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.

Gilbert said the plant will provide diesel fuel for the emergency generator that powers the campus and fuel some tractors, a mower and a forklift.

Herr said the apparatus has a potential high capacity, though that would require used oil from various area restaurants, and to get it to campus it'll take permits to haul grease. The campus dining hall produces about 12 gallons of used grease a week, he said, and the process converts about 85 percent of that into diesel fuel.