Cooking oil from New Zealand's 18 prison kitchens will be converted into biofuel under a new scheme between the Department of Corrections and Biodiesel New Zealand.
Each month 5,000 litres of cooking oil is sent to landfills, but under the new partnership, every litre of oil will be converted into a litre of renewable fuel, each of which saves over 2kg in carbon emissions.
National Manager Corrections Inmate Employment, Brent Maughan, says the Department is excited to be contributing to both a greener environment and local jobs, as well as helping reduce the country's dependency on imported fossil fuels.
A collection tank has been installed at each prison house and on a monthly basis the oil is picked up and brought together in large consignments in South Auckland. From here the product is shipped to Lyttleton and processed into biodiesel in Christchurch.
Biodiesel New Zealand's general manager, Andrew Simcock, says for every tonne of Biogold, New Zealand's CO2 emissions are reduced by at least two tonnes when compared with mineral diesel.
