Fuel from Horticultural Waste
The Recipe

2pm Saturday 25 June
Far North Envirolab
49 Taipa Heights Drive, Taipa

Something has been brewing in Taipa over the last 8 months, and the distillation of this process is about to come to fruition for a presentation on Saturday 25 June. Andreas Kurmann from Far North Envirolab has been busily working on a production manual for a low cost distil system that can add value to on-farm waste products by converting them into beneficial products including renewable ethanol fuel, animal food stock and fertiliser.

With about 100 people attending the first project workshop in mid April, indications are that demand for alternative fuels is high probably due to the soaring price of petrol at the pump. Andreas wants to demonstrate how ethanol can be produced cleanly and cheaply, using a wide variety of plants and waste products, from kiwifruit to plums. He believes that by increasing the availability of ethanol based fuels we could avoid the increasing prices at the petrol pump, become more energy independent, as well as slow global warming. As a fuel, ethanol is much cleaner than petrol, and you can use it in your car, right now. In addition, ethanol fuel production can be environmentally sustainable, revitalises farms and communities, and creates huge new opportunities for small-scale businesses.

The April Workshop

A presentation for anyone interested to learn more about the manual has been planned for 2pm on Saturday 25th June at the Far North Envirolab site: 49 Taipa Heights Drive, Taipa. Space is limited, so please register with Richard at the Far North Environment Centre on 09 408 1086, or click here to email. 

This project has been partly supported through the Sustainable Farming Fund which is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and it is hoped that the uptake of similar initiatives could provide many economic and environmental benefits.