'Takeaway'fuel that cuts down on the carbonara

But one innovative Yorkshire engineer has taken this a step further by recycling cooking oil from his local Italian restaurant to use as biodiesel for his family's cars.

It has slashed their car fuel bills and helped the restaurant by taking the waste oil it produces in the kitchens off its hands.

Mark, from Leeds, works as a low carbon consultant and a couple of years ago decided to experiment with cooking oil to see if he could convert it into biodiesel.

"I like the idea of recycling as much as I can so I thought I'd give it a go. I think the prospect of saving lots of money didn't do any harm," he says.

Waste cooking oil can be recycled into biodiesel and used to runs cars, reducing carbon emissions by up to 70 per cent.

"My only concern was the effect it might have on our vehicles so I ran it in my daughter's car for a while and it was absolutely fine, so now I run my wife's car with it too."

The only problem was getting hold of a steady supply of waste oil.

"I was able to get hold of small quantities from some local takeaways, but it was very ad-hoc," he says.

Which is when he approached John Dammone, who runs the popular Italian restaurant Salvo's in Headingley, to see if he could help out.

"I went to see him and he loved the idea. Getting rid of the oil was a bit of a problem for him so it worked out well for both of us."

This gave Mark a regular supply of cooking oil and for the past two years he has been running two of his family's cars on his own biodiesel.

The costs of producing the biofuel can be as little as 15p a litre, much less than you would pay at a petrol station.

"It's meant we've not had to shell out money on petrol and it's helped our daughter out because she travels to college in Harrogate," explains Mark.

"We have made significant cost savings, however this needs to be weighed up against the time taken to collect and process the fuel."

Turning waste oil into biodiesel is relatively straightforward with the right equipment and knowledge, but Mark says anyone thinking about doing it themselves should do their research first.

"It's not technically difficult, but you do need the proper equipment. You can't just get your hands on waste vegetable oil and throw it in a tank.

"You have to process it and then test every batch." But going green has worked for Mark and his family.

"Using waste oil derived biodiesel helps reduce our family outgoings. The savings we make allow us to spend money on enjoyable things – like eating out at Salvo's."

The family-run restaurant is one of a number of businesses across the UK that are trying to assist local projects that tackle issues of global warming.

"I was delighted to get involved," said Mr Dammone, "because as well as helping Mark and his family reduce their carbon footprint it has effectively reduced a growing headache for us to.

"Previously we would have had to have the waste oil collected by a specialist waste disposal firm who would have travelled some distance in a large heavy vehicle whereas Mark is so local to us he just picks it up as he passes by the restaurant."

ORGANIC WAY TO POWER

Biofuels are produced from organic material, like waste cooking oil. Corn, wheat, rape seed, soya beans and vegetable oils are among the materials that have also been used for biofuel production.

It doesn't just stop there, earlier this month researchers at Edinburgh Napier University revealed that whisky is being used to develop a biofuel which gives 30 per cent more power than ethanol.

Scientists have developed a method of producing biofuel from two main by-products of the whisky distilling process – "pot ale", the liquid from the copper stills, and "draff", the spent grains.

This could be used in conventional cars without adapting their engines.

Experts believe it could also make a significant contribution to European Union targets for biofuels to make up 10 per cent of all fuel sales by 2020.

It certainly gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "one for the road."