Council doubles chip fat fuelled fleet
Hackney Council is making good use of chip fat and used cooking oil to power their fleet of vehicles.
Recycled cooking oil is used to make biodiesel, reducing reliance on standard diesel and the Council's carbon footprint.
In the last year the council has doubled the number of vehicles running on this biodiesel to include 38 HGVs, including recycling lorries.
Last year Hackney Council saved 188 tonnes of CO2 by using 18 vehicles converted to run on recycled cooking oil and is now on course to save 550 tonnes in 2013/14.
We all have to do our bit to reduce vehicle emissions and it's great that we can get some use out of leftover cooking oil. By making use of oil which could otherwise go to waste we have a ready supply of fuel which is also environmentally friendly.
Cooking oil is collected from restaurants and takeaways and is processed to make biodiesel by a supplier in South London, from there it is delivered to Hackney to fuel HGVs.
The council is also looking at other ways of reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption and has 8 electric and 12 hybrid vehicles in use.
Vehicles are also fitted with telematic equipment and speed limiters which help to plan routes, track journeys and increase fuel efficiency.