WASHINGTON—One way to make your leftovers last longer is by feeding your turkey grease to your car.

If you’re anywhere near Chesapeake, Va., Brett Comerford will happily take your leftover turkey grease off your hands.

“I’ll just drive around and grab it,” said Comerford. “I have a few people who have said, ‘hey I’m going to have eight gallons after Thanksgiving!’ And they pretty much gave me their address and said it’ll be on the curb or in front of the garage.”

Eight gallons of turkey grease is nothing to Comerford.

“I would say, within the two weeks, I’ve collected…” said Comerford recounting. “Close to 80 gallons, I think?”

He’ll pay 50 cents per gallon, “or less.” Let’s do the math: 80 gallons times 50 cents is 40 dollars.

“Roughly,” said Comerford. “Filter the oil, pour it in, drive across town…you know, just a little extra work, and I can pretty much drive for free.”

For almost free, Comerford, his wife and his brother use the pre-owned cooking oil to power their vehicles. They each attached a kit that converts the oil to biodiesel fuel.

So far, the Environmental Protection Agency is divided on the issue of people converting their cars into turkey grease guzzlers. It has certified many of these kits, but still advises caution.

“I put the kit on my wife’s Mercedes back in April and my truck around June,” said Comerford. “Between the two vehicles, I think we drove over 30 thousand miles within about 6 months.” He said this was when diesel fuel cost more than five dollars per gallon.

“I saved myself well over two thousand dollars in fuel,” said Comerford, who added there are even more benefits. “The vehicle runs a lot smoother and idles a lot quieter.”

Quieter is good. But what about the smell?

“Like a hot grease fire,” he said laughing. “Kinda like when they’re fryin’ up fries or chicken fingers. You can definitely smell it when you pull up to a red light.”

Who knew the smell of combusting turkey grease could show off your Thanksgiving culinary skills?