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Biodiesel from Used Vegetable Oil

A used vegetable oil recycling programme has been implemented under a pilot project at the Lester Vaughan Secondary School in Barbados. The project was innovative in that it incorporated education and public awareness, training, and micro-enterprise development.

Students were asked to collect used vegetable oil from their homes, extended families, neighbours and communities. Students then bring the oil to school in reusable bottles on a weekly basis. The oil is collected and measured, with the amount of oil registered to each student’s name. The oil is then taken for processing into biodiesel. After processing, the biodiesel is sold to motor vehicle owners and farmers for use in farming equipment.

REDUCTION OF CARBON DIOXIDE

It is estimated that for 3000 litres of oil collected through this project and processed into biodiesel (and without accounting for any carbon dioxide emissions from biodiesel processing), some 8.1 tonnes of CO2 emissions have been avoided.

Students receive an income, currently of USD0.05 per litre of oil collected. A group of students also make and sell popcorn using power from a biodiesel generator. This enables them to appreciate the end product of the cycle. Above all the students are receiving an education in environmental conservation and sustainable business enterprise. The net result of this entire process is to shrink the country’s carbon footprint. Through this project the environmental club at the School now has a focus which has given it new life. The role of the members of the club is now to highlight to other students the positive impact being made. Club members also educate the entire school population through updates at assemblies.

Counterpart Caribbean @ The Future Centre, an environmental education focused NGO in St Thomas, Barbados, has assisted in implementing this project with support from the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme. The partnership also includes Native Sun NRG, a sole proprietorship, which processes the biodiesel. The project has generated broad public interest, and community groups are now investigating the implementation of a much broader collection strategy.

The impact on the school community has been extremely positive. Interest in the school as a “green” school has heightened with further opportunities to be involved in the implementation of other projects, including rainwater harvesting to provide water in the dry season, tree planting and joint environmental projects with other schools across the island. Press coverage of the project has also been positive with the students and the project being featured in newspapers, on television and through the internet. Students have gained a new appreciation of the possibilities for ‘waste’ and are now exposed to an entrepreneurial spirit for the development of small business which focuses on ‘waste’ products and environmental services.

To date, over 3000 litres of oil have been collected and processed into biodiesel. Recently, the students have identified other sources of oil which include the school’s canteen and food vendors using copious quantities of vegetable oil in the preparation of menu items. The net result is an increase in the amount of oil processed and biodiesel sold on the local market.

In February 2007, the Ministry of Energy and Environment released the Draft National Energy Policy which included a mandate to incorporate some 2 million litres of biodiesel into the fuel mix in Barbados by 2025. This has been seen as one way of reducing the country’s imported fuel bill.