Archive - Thursday, 2 February 2006


Find by date

Other ways to search

Also look for

Never miss anything again. Sign up for our RSS news feeds and Newsletters.

Gardener Guy runs his truck on chip fat

AN environmentally aware landscape gardener in Shipston is using old chip fat to run his work vehicles.

Guy Lewis, who runs Guy Lewis Landscapes from his home in Greenway Close, Shipston, fills up his truck and Citroen van with bio-diesel made from the waste oil from the catering industry.

"It's chip fat basically," said Guy, who is keen to run his business on green principles.

"We are concerned about environmental issues generally and trying to run the business ethically and be green."

Previously his vehicles were run on standard diesel "chucking our unburned fuel" and, after reading a magazine article about bio-diesel, he contacted the company Biodiesel Southern Counties, based in Witney, and arranged to buy a 45-gallon drum of bio fuel from them for just over £200.

"We imagine we will be getting through a drum every three to four weeks," said Guy, who estimates that the bio-diesel works out 11p a litre cheaper than standard diesel.

"We are pretty much as we were on mileage.

"You can't really tell the difference. Our vehicles are a little lower on torque at the upper region," he said.

The move to bio-diesel is part of an effort to go green across the business, which Guy runs with his wife, Renate.

"We are using organic paints and stains in fencing and pergolas, we keep chemical use to an absolute minimum and use recycled materials such as stones and hard core.

"We try to make all our own compost and don't use peat compost," said Guy.

"I think customers want that now. It's all about education," he added.

So far he is extremely pleased with the switch to bio-diesel, which did not require his vehicles to be converted.

"I don't know if it's 100 per cent pollution free but it's light years ahead of standard diesel," said Guy.

However, he did admit that the new fuel does have one slight drawback.

"It does smell a bit like a chippy when running your vehicle.

"It makes you a quite hungry, especially on a cold day."