According to Washington State University civil engineer Haifang Wen, you can make asphalt using cooking oil. Asphalt is traditionally made with the residue left behind after the production of gas, plastics and other products. His method is much more affordable, and better for the environment. It also doesn't depend on petroleum!

"Building roads is a big investment in taxpayer money," Wen said in a statement. "In general, a one-mile road in a rural area costs at least a million dollars to build. With the waste cooking oil technology, we can reduce the cost of asphalt binder to under $200 per ton, making road building much cheaper."



For Wen's method to make it into the mainstream, he'll have to prove that cooking oil asphalt is just as good as petroleum based asphalt. Will his method be adopted?