Fats and oils from waste pies, sausages rolls and pastries are being extracted to make bio-diesel in a project that is expected to be rolled out across the UK.
Road fuel supplier Greenergy has teamed up with Brocklesby, a specialist in recycling edible oil, to convert into biofuel misshapen and out-of-date bakery products that would have gone to landfill or compost.
The savoury products, which contain between 25% and 30% oil and fat, are sourced from bakery manufacturers and the oil is extracted by East Yorkshire-based Brocklesby. It is then purified by Greenergy and converted into biodiesel, which is blended into the diesel supplied to petrol stations.
Any food solids left after processing are dried and then composted or used to produce energy through anaerobic digestion, but could be used to make biomass fuel pellets.
A Greenergy spokesperson said the company was keen to hear from bakers interested in supplying waste products.
Greenergy is also a major shareholder in a firm called Scarab, which produces bioethanol from starch-rich foods such as bread and cakes. Greenergy already uses more than 20 million litres of biodiesel a month from used cooking oil.
Andrew Owens, Greenergy chief executive, said: "As oil prices continue to rise, it’s important to develop alternative sources of fuel. The quantities of biodiesel we currently produce from solid food waste are small, but we’re expecting to scale up, so that this soon becomes a significant proportion of our biodiesel."
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