WESTLAND, Mich. -- Who knew how valuable used cooking grease from restaurants was? Police said Christopher Kind of Ypsilanti Township and Richard Tallent of Belleville did.

Both men are accused of stealing gallons of used grease from several fast food restaurants in metro Detroit.

Kind and Tallent were charged Thursday with two counts of trespassing and two counts of larceny less than $200.

Police said Kind and Tallent sucked grease out of a grease trap at the Alexander The Great Restaurant around 2 a.m. Tuesday and tried hauling it away.

When Kind was stopped by police, he claimed to be a contractor hired by the restaurant to pick up the grease. However, police said it is not true.

Most restaurants have contracts with licensed haulers to remove the grease. The grease is taken to a rendering company and is usually transformed into animal feed, lotions, chemical applications for roads and more.

Leftover grease can also easily be turned into biodiesel fuel and be used in most diesel engines without modifying the machinery. A full container of grease can be valued at $2,000.

Grease is traded the same way as commodities such as soybeans and gold are. When the price is high, the demand increases.

Both men were released from police custody Wednesday after posting 10 percent of a $5,000 bond. A pretrial conference has been scheduled for both on May 5 in 18th District Court in Westland.