Taking the right road
Indigo Redfern goes motoring on ethical biodiesel
About twenty years ago my two sisters, quite independently, went travelling and, somehow, never got further than the USA. Personally, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to live anywhere other than England but they seem to have taken root there and I have given up hoping that they will return. Neither are now able to travel. So, if my mother and I wish to see them we have to go there, which we are currently doing every year, while my mother still feels able for long distance flying. My annual long haul flight, however, doesn’t sit well with my Quaker values. This has motivated me to explore ways to offset the damage that I am doing. So, in 2010, we fitted solar panels and, in 2011, we switched to biodiesel.
A year ago we bought an eight-year-old diesel Yaris car. It averages about fifty-five miles per gallon (mpg) and only costs £30 per year to tax as it ‘scores’ on the green criteria. Not all diesel cars are compatible with biodiesel but, happily, this Yaris is. So I joined the Stroud Biodiesel Club, which has a pump near Stroud. Their biodiesel is one hundred per cent recycled chip fat from a local Cirencester business. This means that it doesn’t involve any specially grown crops displacing food production. Biodiesel can be mixed with ordinary diesel, so I’m not tied to Stroud.
The biodiesel contains anti-freeze, otherwise it starts to set, and the club recommends mixing it with ordinary diesel in cold temperatures. We haven’t found this necessary yet – though if it gets seriously cold like last winter, we may do so. Does it work out more expensive? It depends on how often you fill up your car, but for us it’s about the same, adding together the monthly membership and the cheaper biodiesel cost. This is despite the fact that our car used to average about sixty mpg and is now averaging closer to fifty-five mpg with the biodiesel.
This is how it works in Stroud:
- Check your diesel car is compatible with biodiesel
- Join the club – for £4.50 per calendar month
- Buy your biodiesel at about £1.30 per litre (the price is set at 10p per litre below the lowest local commercial pump price)
- Enjoy one hundred per cent green and peaceful motoring, knowing that you are not contributing to global warming, corrupt mega-companies or oily war-mongering.
So, would I recommend it? Yes, definitely. I can’t believe how easy it is to suddenly achieve zero emissions for the car, with the extra added benefit of not shoring up the toxic oil giants and investing, instead, in a local community project. Of course, we will continue to replace our non-existent second car with a range of car share, lift share and public transport, but the biodiesel has provided an excellent solution to the troublesome car question.
For further information on the Stroud Biodiesel Club, please visit: www.stroudbiodieselclub.org.uk
