Administrators in Rovigo, a city in Northern Italy, have found a way to turn the problem of cooking oil disposal into an environmental benefit. The cooking oil collected in their municipality is now converted into biodiesel, and then blended at 25% with traditional diesel to fuel the trucks used for waste collection.

The program started in 2006, when ASM Rovigo, the municipal company delivering public services for the municipality, moved the oil collecting point to the city centre and distributed small tanks to the citizens for the delivery of their used cooking oil.
Thanks to the success of the initiative, in 2008 the Rovigo municipality was able to launch the second phase of the project, addressing both privates and restaurants, and established several collecting points in the main supermarkets. This made it easier for the citizens to dispose of their discarded oil, since they only have to bring it to the supermarket whilst doing their shopping.

The project is enjoying a huge success. In 2009 an average collection rate of nearly 1 liter/person/year was achieved and 34.000 litres of biofuel were used by ASM trucks, corresponding to 18% of renewable energy use on the total fuel amount.
This collection system amply repays itself thanks to the savings derived from the reduced use of fossil fuels and from the avoided fees for the oil disposal. Moreover, the use of biofuel resulted in a 12% reduction in CO2 emissions and in a measurable abatement of the pollutants released by the trucks.

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