Green Gown Awards 2011 - Colleges and Smaller Institutions - Blackpool and the Fylde College

Driving Ahead with Waste Oil

Blackpool and The Fylde College is moving forward with its initiatives and promotion of sustainable travel. In July 2010 the College began recycling waste vegetable oil from the School of Catering and Food Production and the College’s refectories, the oil is used to make biodiesel fuel, virtually no additional resources are required and there are no environmental impacts from waste oil transportation

Confronted with the rising cost – both financial and environmental – of conventional fuel, Blackpool and The Fylde College has driven its sustainable transport using waste vegetable oil. It recycles waste vegetable oil from the School of Catering and Food Production and the College’s refectories in order to produce biodiesel. The college has involved in this exercise students learning relevant subjects such as chemistry, environmental science and motor vehicles. As a result of this project, a number of College vehicles run on biodiesel. It has achieved a cumulative saving of over £7000 over a period of five years and the annual carbon dioxide emissions saving is in excess of 4000 kg. The project has become a valuable learning resource and unique experience for students while demonstrating the College’s commitment to the environment.