Biodiesel facility launched by Waiheke Island Trust

Waiheke Island Trust officially launched its own biodiesel production facility in the island on September 19. The operation, which operates out of an old farm building at Ostend, will produce enough fuel to run the adjacent recycling depot’s trucks, diggers and machinery. John Stansfield, director of Cleanstream Ltd., which is a subsidiary of the Waste Resources Trust, said the biodiesel production was the culmination of two years’ work and research. He said the plant would eventually process up to 30,000 liters of biodiesel a year and the glycerol by-product would be used to make soap. The trust worked with Auckland University’s EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) team of final-year students on the project. Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard opened the facility, which he said would see less oil dumped back on the mainland. Hubbard said it was important to tackle climate change at the micro-level. (September 20, 2007)