Tesco Turns to Biodiesel

by Edmund Jenks | December 21, 2006 at 07:19 am

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A British Health Culture Side Benefit (see addendum below)

LONDON -- Tesco announced this week plans to run three-quarters of its delivery vehicles on biodiesel beginning in January next, BBC News reports. The retailer says it wants to reduce the impact of its business on the environment.

Tesco will fuel its 2,000 trucks and vans on a 50 percent biodiesel mix to cut the greenhouse gases they produce. Regular automobiles can use blends of 5 percent biofuel and 95 percent gasoline, a blend that is becoming more widespread at service stations across the United Kingdom, notes the news source.

By using the 50 percent biodiesel mix, Tesco said it would slash greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70,000 tons per year. "This is enough greenhouse gas to fill over 1.5 billion balloons or 15,000 swimming pools," the company reported.

"We're experiencing a huge demand for more environmentally friendly fuels and are committed to driving down carbon dioxide emissions," Laurie McIIwee, director of distribution at Tesco, told BBC News.

It really shouldn't be hard for TESCO to find sources of "bio" oil to mix with the diesel (this from National Geographic)-

300 Scottish fast food restaurants sell Britain's most popular meal: fish and chips (fries).

They found 22 percent of these "chip shops" also served deep-fried Mars bars (a Milky Way in the U.S.). Each contains more than 420 calories.

Average sales were 23 bars per week, with some shops selling more than 200 each week. Three-fourths of customers were children.

The researchers found that Mars bars aren't Scotland's only deep-fried specialties, with chip shops also frying up ice-cream, pizza, pineapple rings, pickled eggs, Snicker bars, and bananas.