PONTIAC, Ill. (AP) -- Students at Pontiac High School in Pontiac are taking high gas prices into their own hands.

The teens in Paul Ritter's ecology class are converting vegetable oil in a biodiesel generator to create biodiesel fuel.

Ritter says they've already produced about forty gallons of fuel that's been used successfully in both a tractor and a pick-up truck.

He says the project is an important step toward relief at the pump. Gas prices across the state have reached new highs recently, with prices in the Pontiac area reaching about three-dollars-and-50-cents a gallon.

Ritter says he's hoping to continue the project next year.