The first ever recycling and refuse vehicle to run on vegetable oil in the UK is now operating in Poole, Dorset.
New technology and the work of Regenatec who helped to convert the diesel vehicle to plant oil, means that one of Poole Council’s recycling trucks is now powered from processed, used vegetable oil.
Regenatec have worked closely with Oxford Brooks University who have carried out ‘extensive field trials and independent fuel science research’.
This type of waste oil, which arises from industrial scale food cooking such as chips, crisps and meat etc, would have previously been incinerated. Regenatec has the capability of producing a diesel equivalent fuel from it, suitable for use in a converted vehicle.
The vehicle is started on normal diesel but then automatically changes over to the bio-fuel oil after a few minutes when the engine has warmed up to a sufficient degree.
Councillor Don Collier, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for the Environment said: “Pure vegetable oil offers great advantages over bio-diesel for commercial vehicles. It is cleaner, more eco-friendly fuel than bio-diesel and has a far less damaging impact on the environment than conventional diesel fuel".
He continued, "We are proud to be leading the way as a local authority in our bid to be environmentally friendly”