Biodiesel, the clean alternative to diesel, is now being sold from 3 petrol stations in Gozo and fifteen in Malta.

Biodiesel, which needs to be mixed with normal diesel, is a clean fuel produced from vegetable and animal fats and oils.

It has been produced in Malta by the Edible Oil Refining Company since April 2004. It is sold 2c6 cheaper than diesel per litre and consumption by diesel engines running on biodiesel is two to four per cent less, the company claims.

Environment Minister George Pullicino said yesterday that from an environmental perspective, biodiesel had two advantages, it is produced from fats and oils and emissions were lower than from normal fossil fuels.

The minister said that when used fats were disposed of in the drainage system they caused a lot of damage so reducing the amount going down drains was a big advantage.

The minister noted that between January and October there was a 10 per cent increase in the sale of biodiesel compared to the same period last year. This was when biodiesel had only been available from an EORC pump at Marsa. A total of 1.3 million litres have been consumed between January and October.

EORC collects used oils from industry and since collection started on April 1, 2004, 2,600 tonnes of used oil have been collected including 1,200 tonnes this year alone. The company pays 10c for every litre of used oil, making Malta the only country paying for the collection of this oil.

A pilot domestic collection system from seven localities in Malta and Gozo was also embarked upon last year and this was to be extended to the whole country later this year. There are two types of biodiesel, B20 and B100. B20 is an already mixed solution including 20 per cent biodiesel while B100 is 100 per cent biodiesel. The biodiesel available from petrol stations locally at the moment is 100 per cent biodiesel.

This means that clients have to take a percentage of diesel as well as biodiesel. However, B20 will hopefully be available following legislative changes shortly, EORC commercial manager Pippo Psaila said.

He said that diesel cars should be weaned to biodiesel gradually. Biodiesel could be used in all existing diesel engines and fuel injection equipment without any modifications. It had excellent lubricant properties, improved engine performance and was environmentally friendly.

But it was important to source the product from reputable companies that could guarantee that the product conformed to international standards.

Malta is the first EU country to have completely tax-free biodiesel. It is also the only country in the world where biodiesel is cheaper than diesel.

Mr Pullicino noted that the German Watch Report placed Malta in the fourth position of countries doing their utmost to make the least possible impact on climate. It was preceded by Sweden, Finland and Germany.