A company operating in the Klaipėda Free Economic Zone in western Lithuania will start producing biofuel out of used cooking oil collected in the country.
Mestilla, a biodiesel manufacturer, will invest 6 million euros into the project, according to the company’s press release. Construction of the plant is due to start in early 2021.
Read more: Klaipėda Free Economic Zone scores high on Financial Times rankings
“The European Commission strongly encourages the repurposing of this waste,” Arūnas Zubas, CEO of Mestilla, is quoted in the press release.
“This waste cannot be poured down the drain because oil is difficult to treat at waste management plants,” he said.
In 2019, the European Commission (EC) put forth a new Renewable Energy Directive, which calls to increase biofuel usage in transportation to 14 percent by 2030.
Mestilla expects to process up to 40,000 tonnes of used oil per year, accounting for 15 percent of the company’s total processing capacity, once the expansion project is complete. The biodiesel manufacturer will collect oil from Lithuanian food sector companies.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
