The very idea of turning chip-pan fat into a fuel is an ingenious one. The fact that there is a Maltese company that does exactly that and offers it for sale at a pump is even better.

We harp on in this country that we never have any good research and development projects, but yet the private company Edible Oil, has managed to take the concept and turn into reality.

Again, one must emphasise that this is a private company. Nonetheless, it has come up with a project that produces virtually no waste at all. What the company did was realise that it could not simply survive on its core business in a liberalised and globalised world.

Instead of doing as it did in the past and diversified by entering other avenues of “normal” business, the company decided that it needed a novel idea. It exploited its expertise of the edible oil business and decided to produce a fuel from waste. It is literally the equivalent of powering vehicles on waste.

What the company does is take used oils and refine them, turning them into fuel. The byproduct is glycerin – which also has its uses and can be sold to be used as a component in other product.

What is best is that the fuel has zero sulphur emissions and is a clean burning fuel. So what is happening in a nutshell? Edible Oil takes waste that would be left to clog up our drains and turns it into a fuel that can power a car, truck, crane and believe it or not – ships. It leaves no waste as that is in turn sold on as glycerin, and users of the fuel in turn pollute the environment less than a conventional fuel-user would.

This fuel also has good lubricity properties which also cuts out the old “Will I damage my engine if I use low-sulphur fuels”. Bio diesel is 600 times more effective in lubricating engine parts than a low-sulphur equivalent.

So, we are indeed onto a good thing. Next year, the fuel market will be liberalised and one would hope that petrol attendants will see this golden opportunity. The company has made no secret of the fact that it wants to see its product being sold at service stations, but does not want to enter the market by opening its own pumps.

So, where does that leave us? The fuel is cheaper than diesel, and although 1.4 million litres have been sold this year, it only makes up 0.9 per cent of market sale. The owners say this is a huge jump from the previous year – but in terms of a country it is not enough. The fact that people have to drive all the way to Marsa (at present) to get the fuel might put some off.

Bio diesel also gets tax breaks, but perhaps the government should choose wisely. Further incentives and promotion of its use will help the government two-fold – it will be promoting an environmentally-friendly product and it will also hopefully eventually save on fuel importation costs.

But there are bigger and better things too. The company points out that the heavier-duty the engine – the better bio diesel works with it. If we could get some of the large vehicle operators – Gozo Channel, the Air Malta ground fleet, bus drivers and any other large operator to use bio diesel – they would save on their own bills as well as give an example to the general public.

Malta’s size is an advantage in this scenario. Edible Oil’s refinery is only running at some 10-11 per cent capacity at the moment. It is a golden opportunity that we should take advantage of. We could eventually be one of the few nations on the world that runs on environmentally-friendly fuel.