Supermarket to switch 300 lorries to rapeseed fuel

Rapeseed. It makes the countryside a nice yellow hue. And many commentators are claiming it is the answer the world’s fueling problems. Supermarket chain Waitrose certainly thinks so – it is trialling a system that could see its entire lorry fleet powered by the increasingly popular plant.

This from The Times

The supermarket chain is the first to opt for rapeseed oil.

It claims that the process of cold-pressing rapeseed to produce the oil has a carbon footprint 20 per cent lower than producing the equivalent amount of bio-diesel, which is made through a chemical process involving methanol.

Charlie Mayfield, chairman of John Lewis, said: “We are always looking at ways of improving the efficiency of our fleet and this is a win for us. We expect it to succeed and as and when it does we will roll it out.”