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Keystone Distribution, the distribution partner for McDonald’s UK, is to shave £750,000 off its fuel costs over the coming year by swapping diesel for converted cooking oil.
The first fleet of 41 vehicles at its Basingstoke distribution centre has been running on 100 per cent biodiesel, (converted from waste cooking oil taken from McDonald’s restaurants) for just over a year. A second fleet of 51 vehicles will be converted at the Hemel Hempstead depot by the end of the month.
Keystone says it will save £14,400 each week by running the two fleets on the converted cooking oil rather than regular HGV diesel, which will bring its total annual transport savings to £750,000.
The company says the conversion of its Basingstoke and Hemel Hempstead fleets, will help it reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 5,795 tonnes – the equivalent of taking 2,424 family cars off the road each year.
Waste management company Wastecare collects the oil each week from McDonald’s 1,200 restaurants across the UK to convert to biodiesel for Keystone’s fleets.
Keystone will launch a trial at its third depot in Heywood, Lancashire towards the end of the year.
McDonald’s came up with the idea a year ago as part of its plan to reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain.
Steve Easterbrook, chief executive, McDonald’s UK, said: “From the outset, the environmental benefits of this innovative biodiesel development project were clear and formed part of our wider commitment to reducing the impact our business has on the environment wherever possible.
“However, we are also now additionally benefiting from significant cost savings. By converting our own waste product to biofuel, we have helped insulate our supply chain against the spiralling cost of standard fuel.”
