Tung An Elementary School in Pingtung County’s Nanchou Rural Township began to process used household cooking oil into biodiesel fuel three years ago to help keep the environment clean and to improve environmental efficiency in the county, which is an agricultural area with many orchards, Tung An Principal Tsai Ching-wen said.

“We experienced a bumpy start during which there was little action, but then more and more students started to bring in waste oil after repeated public campaigns,” Tsai said.

Hsieh Cheng-wen, the teacher responsible for instructing students how to process used household cooking oil into biodiesel, contributed his own diesel engine van to serve as a guinea pig and use biodiesel fuel processed in a makeshift factory at the school.

His van has traveled nearly 30,000 kilometers over the past two years using school-produced biodiesel.

A student’s grandmother has been one of the most steadfast supporters, not only contributing used cooking oil, but also expired, clean cooking oil.

Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. Most importantly, biodiesel provides a way for the county’s households and eateries to dispose of their used cooking oil in an environmentally friendly manner, Hsieh said.

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