Around the World on Rubbish

Is it possible to drive around the world using rubbish? We’re finding out.

I bought this old school bus from a scrap yard and with the help of friends, got it running, refurbished the inside into an eco-home using reclaimed materials, and converted the engine to run on used cooking oil, to see if we could drive around the world using things that others have thrown away.

In September 2009 I set off from London, England, heading east and so far all our fuel has been made from other peoples’ waste.

It’s not the first Eco-adventure I’ve tried. In 2007 I drove a “chocolate powered lorry” to Timbuktu using biodiesel made from waste cocoa butter, and a year later I organised the Grease to Greece Rally across Europe for cars converted to run on restaurants’ waste fryer oil. This current trip is part of that ongoing experiment to find a sustainable way of travelling.

There is a point to all this, somewhere. Leading scientists think that if everyone on the planet reduces their personal carbon footprint to two tonnes a year by 2050, we’ll stave off the worst effects of man made climate change. But in some countries that requires an 80-90% drop. I’m curious to discover if that kind of dramatic reduction is possible and what compromises it requires. This rubbish journey is an experiment to see if we can get around the world emitting less than two tonnes of CO2 per person, and along the way discover what others are doing to cut their footprint and see if people are already feeling the effects of climate change.

There’s no doubt any more among the consensus of scientists; man made climate change is happening. The real questions are; how bad will it be, what can we do to reduce it’s impact, and who will suffer most?