For June we caught up with Shaun Stenshol, founder of Bio-Beetle, to learn about eco rental cars, keeping green and sexy in Hawaii, and why your French fries give him gas.

You own Maui Recycling service. What is that?
Maui Recycling Service is the only full service recycling hauling company on the island. MRS started 18 years ago with a small truck and a handful of concerned citizens who were tired of waiting for the government to offer curbside recycling. Today there still is no county/state supported curbside recycling program. I bought the company 10 years ago, because I believe in zero waste, and wanted to do everything possible to reach that goal. We work to recycle everything we can on Maui, including household batteries. We also fuel our trucks with biodiesel…

How did the idea of eco rental cars come about?
Basically due to the obvious negative issues surrounding the oil industry, such as pollution, and using our tax dollars to support wars for oil, I gave up driving for seven years because I didn’t want to support the petroleum industry. When I came to Maui I was aware of biodiesel and was thrilled to learn about Pacific Biodiesel here on Maui. I bought a car to promote biodiesel and thought, wouldn’t it be great if anyone coming to Maui could drive a car powered on vegetable oil too? So I bought the first Bio-Beetle, and with the help of my partner (Pamela Miedtke-Wolf) we started Bio-Beetle ECO Rental Cars.

Why bio-diesel and not hybrids?
Gas hybrids still use fossil fuels! We are trying to get away from the oil industry as much as possible and become as sustainable as possible. Even still, our VWs get better fuel mileage than many hybrids! 35-40 mpg. Some auto makers are designing diesel hybrids, which we are anxious to include in our fleet. We were told to expect around 70 MPG!

Have you gotten any feedback from local restaurants regarding using their oil as fuel?
We don’t deal with the restaurants directly. We buy the fuel directly from Pacific biodiesel, but we know that the restaurants are happy there is an outlet for their waste oil. Restaurant oil is nasty stuff and illegal to dump down the drain. It is also bad to landfill and hard to compost. Making biodiesel is perfect for it. Restaurants hire a pumping company to take the oil, then they bring it to Pacific Biodiesel who clean it and remove the glycerin, which leaves perfect fuel.

How does one refuel a bio-diesel car? Can you just pull up to a Taco Bell and plug in somewhere?
It is like going to a regular gas station except no bad smells! There is just one station (on the island), but because these cars get such great fuel economy, most people don’t even have to fuel up in a week. It is centrally located, right near the airport, and one is never more than 60 miles from the station on Maui!

What’s with the beetles?
The Beetle was our first biodiesel rental car, and gave (the company) a fun name, which stuck. We also have VW jettas, Golfs, and even a Jeep Liberty. The cars need to be diesels and in the USA we don’t have many options. The Beetles are fun!

What’s your favorite Beatles song?
“The End” (from Abbey Road)

Hawaii is a very sexy place, and you’re making it a lot sexier. Is it easy being green off the main land?
We believe in being green so it is easy for us. Some times things are more expensive, but one has to realize that it is what it is, and taking care of the planet and those on it is worth it. People don’t realize that on most things you will pay now or later. Sometimes the up-front costs look higher, but when you see the rewards down the road it is worth it. One example is solar power… one has to dish out more money to start using solar, but is saves you money in the long run. One very nice reward we have right now for being green on Maui is that biodiesel is a lot cheaper than gas! Most renters save 50% on fuel, easily 40-50 dollars a week on average, because of the lower cost per gallon and higher fuel economy.

Any plans to expand Bio-Beetle beyond Hawaii?
We will expand/franchise sometime… A lot of time and energy has to go into that, and we want to do it right, so we will wait for the right time. We have had a lot of people show interest though, wanting to invest and/or open a franchise, so that is great!

Have you always been green?
Pretty much so. Most of us have been sheltered to some degree, not being aware of what our day-to-day actions have on this planet. The more education we have, meaning keeping up to date on what really is happening, not just reading and believing biased headlines… the better. Everything we do has an impact on the planet and our future, so when we have green options we should take them. With Bio-Beetle it’s not just about the fuel; we don’t use toxic chemicals to clean the cars. We support local small businesses. We lend free coolers, boogie boards, books etc. and try to teach people that it is about reducing consumerism too, and buying only what we need. We buy recycled, local items first, and recycle everything. We tell our renters to bring back their recyclables if the place they are staying doesn’t recycle. We also highlight organic and vegetarian/vegan restaurants, since our diet has a major affect on this planet. We all have choices, and we believe in giving anyone who comes to Maui an easy way to be green, while not sacrificing a thing.

Headed to Hawaii? Rent a Bio-Beetle! To learn more about this great company or to rent a vehicle, check out their website.