Fuel renewal earns Golden Gecko award

A Tom Price-based project which recycles used cooking oil from mining camps into renewable biodiesel fuel has taken out this year's Golden Gecko award for environmental excellence.

The award was won by ESS Support Services Worldwide and AshOil, a subsidiary of the Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation.

The awards are run by the State Government, through the Department of Mines and Petroleum, to recognise companies which make a significant contribution to developing WA's resources in an environmentally responsible manner.

ESS enterprise manager Stuart Gunzburg said AshOil provided a sustainable way of offsetting diesel produced by mining companies.

"What it does, is it collects cooking oil from mining camps throughout the Pilbara region and converts that into bio diesel and a by-product called glycerol," he said.

"We signed a formal agreement in 2010 with ESS, who run the camps, to ensure all the (cooking) oil in their mining camps would be converted in bio diesel.

"There's an abundant supply of cooking oil in the Pilbara region from mining camps and this is a way of utilising a waste locally in the region and producing a renewable product that offsets diesel so it reduces emissions in the Pilbara region."

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion said AshOil recycled about 200,000 litres of used cooking oil per year.

Mr Marmion said the project reduced carbon emissions by about 500 metric tonnes, the equivalent of taking 100 cars permanently off the road.

Mr Gunzburg said the award was an acknowledgment of the relationship between ESS and AshOil.

He said ESS was looking toward the future.

"It's a great vindication of the processes that were put in place and affirms the relationship AshOil has with ESS," he said.

"It is recognition that indigenous organisations can carry out sustainable business processes and develop good relationships with organisations and produce sustainable partnerships.

"AshOil has indigenous links, so anywhere that we go to replicate the process we'd like to have an indigenous involvement, primarily in training and development of indigenous employment opportunities."