Waste Oil Recycling Project in Prisons

Reducing carbon emissions, reducing reoffending

The Waste Oil Recycling Project in Prisons (WORPP) is reducing carbon emissions at the same time as helping offenders to develop new skills. Based at HMP Ford, an open prison near Arundel, the project takes used cooking oil from prison kitchens and converts it into bio-fuel for use in prison vehicles.

Learning new skills

Offenders serving the last section of their sentence are eligible to apply for the bio-fuel production training course which aims to equip participants with skills and qualifications to help them get a job when they're released. Unemployment is closely associated with reoffending and the project aims to reduce this at the same time as increasing understanding of waste and energy. The training programme covers the technical processes involved in turning cooking oil into bio-fuel, with an emphasis on hands-on learning.

"The course content will evolve over time as the trainer sees what's most effective and how much time is needed at each stage," explains Clare Cherry, Community Engagement Manager at HMP Ford. "It's also important that we respond to individual learning needs. For example, we know that some trainees will have literacy issues, so we gather evidence of learning through photographs as well as through written tests."

Forming partnerships

The WORPP team is working with Brighton University to develop the technical facilities needed for the project and to explore possibilities for delivering training for other prison communities. There's already been strong interest from other prisons that want to start producing their own bio-fuel, but the WORPP team is keen to complete the research and trials at HMP Ford before extending the programme.

Feedback from local stakeholders suggests that the project's combined environmental and social agenda is very appealing, with businesses and other organisations already stepping forward to donate their used oil. The local authority is also keen to use surplus production to fuel community buses. The WORPP team is committed to responsible business practices and will not replace any viable local businesses. "Our approach is to work in partnership with complementary enterprises," comments Clare.

Keeping an open mind

While it's important to stay focused on the core aims of your project, Clare believes it helps to keep an open mind when new ideas come along. "The more you network and talk to people, the more opportunities you come across. I recently gave a presentation at a prison service conference and was asked whether it would be possible to use bio-fuel in heating generators. This would be a very interesting avenue to explore - the prison service spends £4 million a year on oil for heating, so switching to bio-fuel could lead to major cost savings as well as reductions in emissions."