If you want to go green, go vegetarian in your car

Published on Friday 27 June 2008 21:56

IF CHIP shops have experienced a sharp rise in the number of people asking if they can take some vegetable oil home as well as their supper, soaring fuel prices could be to blame. Because more drivers are putting up with a car smelling like a chippie if it means cutting a good chunk off their fuel bills.

When Graeme Barrie, of Broxburn, explains the difference that powering his cars with vegetable oil has made not only to the environment but his finances, and even

how well the cars run, people are usually swayed pretty quickly.

Every three weeks or so, Graeme collects vegetable oil from local outlets such as restaurants, bars and takeout stores. Following a four-stage filtering process that takes up to three hours, he ends up with 300 litres of oil on which he can run both his land rover and his wife's Peugeot 306.

Typically, 20 per cent of the fuel tank will still be diesel, but with vegetable oil making up the rest, the cost of running the vehicles has plummeted. "My wife commutes between Broxburn and Stirling and her spending on fuel has fallen from over 3,000 a year to about 600."

But while the financial savings are impressive, particularly at a time when the cost of fuel is rising, it's also about limiting pollution.

As a health and safety environmental consultant, this is the biggest selling point for Graeme. "Instead of the vegetable oil going to waste we are giving it another life while reducing emissions to virtually nothing.

"So the payback is that we're saving money and doing less harm to the environment."

His advice to drivers keen on following his example is to do their homework first.

"The newer engines aren't all suitable but there's no reason a lot of diesel cars can't run on an alternative fuel – you need to make sure your engine is compatible.

"If it is but you're still not sure, try a small dilution of vegetable oil as it's less likely to cause damage if it doesn't work."

The tax rules on using vegetable oil for fuel changed last year, meaning you can use up to 2,500 litres a year for personal use without having to pay any extra tax.