Out of the frying pan into the Met’s tyres; in a slick operation the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are recycling waste vegetable oil to power the vehicles which deliver their groceries.

The move is part of a drive by the MPS with energy company Convert2Green and 3663 First for Foodservice - which provides the food and catering supplies - to cut emissions of harmful greenhouse gases.

Convert2Green collects and recycles the waste cooking oil of all 93 of the Met’s police canteens which is then used to fuel delivery lorries.

The oil is converted to a B30 bio diesel mix - 30% bio fuel and 70% diesel - actively reducing the MPS’s impact on the environment and producing a range of quality bio-fuels whilst recycling waste into carbon savings.

Caroline Mortimer, Director of Catering Services, said: “We are trying to reduce the amount of oil the MPS use in order to encourage healthier eating. In the meantime, we want to make sure the oil we do use can be disposed of in as green a way as possible. 

“We are really pleased that this is forming a cycle where it is then able to be used for the vans in the distribution chain that provide the MPS its groceries.”

Between March 2010 - when the MPS started the recycling scheme - and May 2010 - almost 9000 litres of waste oil have been collected. This amounts to a CO2 saving of 18.23 tonnes.

Brian Rowland, Business Development Manager for Convert2Green added: “We are delighted to be working with the Metropolitan Police on this energy initiative which not only saves carbon but also reduces waste to landfill. 

It is vital that forward thinking organisations, such as the Met, take the lead in responsibly disposing of their waste cooking oil with Convert2Green, who then process it for bio-fuel for use in road transport and to provide heat and power for public buildings.”