December 2017

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS
NEW ZEALAND
Biodiesel co-op launches in New Zealand to recycle cooking oil as fuel
A group of friends are forming a biodiesel
co-op in Kapiti, New Zealand, to reduce
waste and lower their greenhouse gas
emissions by 86%.
The co-op will collect cooking oil from
local businesses to filter and process it
into a fuel which can be used in any diesel
engine without modification.
One of the key figures behind the project
is Matt Lamason, founder and director
of the People’s Coffee in Kapiti, who
wanted a sustainable solution for the
problem of waste in his business.
“The idea came from visiting a small
farmer in Australia who was making
biodiesel in his backyard,” he said. “I
thought, we can do that. Here in NZ, we
eat a lot of fried fish and chips, so the
waste oil was a factor in seeing the gap
in the market for a local, small-scale
fuel project that has the potential to
reproduce around NZ and maybe in the
Pacific islands where fossil diesel is at
very high prices.”
While not a co-op, his coffee shop
sources Fairtrade coffee from co-ops in
p Some of the founders of the Kapiti co-op
Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mexico, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Colombia and Peru.
“I wanted to experiment with starting a
co-op and how it feels to begin a business
that starts with a different premise,” he
said. “The model suits members – they
collect waste cooking oil and deliver to
the co-op and all benefit from processing
and buying a cheaper, lower-carbon fuel.”
Ramsey Margolis, who advises co-op
start-ups, helped shape the co-op structure
of the business and is working with Kapiti
on governance, member engagement
and education. He said: “Unlike
most investor-owned start-ups, the
co-op is not looking to scale up,
rather they’re wanting to inspire
– and help – other small, consumerowned
biodiesel co-ops.”
The first biodiesel goes to the co-op’s
members in January 2018. It
currently has six members and
has set a target of $5,500 in the
crowdfunding campaign.
SINCE 1977
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DECEMBER 2017 | 17