Mayor of London calls for capital to be biodiesel hub

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A report prepared by LRS Consultancy has prompted London Mayor Boris Johnson to call on the UK biofuel industry to turn the capital into a biodiesel hub.

Produced for the Greater London Authority (GLA) by LRS, the report The Market for Biodiesel Production from Used Cooking Oils and Fats, Oils and Greases in London provides evidence to the Mayor to encourage the biodiesel industry into London.

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Boris Johnson said: “By capturing used cooking oil right here in London and turning it into biodiesel we could provide 20 per cent of the fuel needed to power London’s entire bus fleet, while saving more than 50,000 tonnes of CO2 and creating hundreds of new jobs.”

Following the publication of the report, LRS facilitated a biodiesel workshop with GLA bringing together waste producers, collectors, reprocessors, manufacturers and potential buyers including Transport for London who could use biodiesel in buses.

LRS Consultancy principal consultant Hugh Smith said: “Our research shows that London has the highest concentration of food businesses in the UK, producing between 32 and 44 million litres of used cooking oil every year.

“As well as the opportunity to collect used cooking oil from the vast array of appropriate organisations, there is an opportunity for water companies to utilise the fats, oils and greases collected from sewers beneath our feet and use them to manufacture a low carbon fuel, in the form of biodiesel.”