aumar, the abertis corporation motorway operator, has donated a specialised vehicle to the Association Madre Coraje for its vegetable oil recycling programme. The handover ceremony took place this midday in a shopping centre in Jerez de la Frontera. The van –the Jerez NGDO’s first new vehicle– will collect used vegetable oil (from frying pans, deep fryers and tins of preserves) which the public leaves in special containers spread throughout the city. Once cleaned and recycled, the oil will be used to make biodiesel and bars of soap to be sent to underprivileged communities in Peru.

The project has a twofold purpose, both environmental and social. In terms of sustainability, the association aims to raise public awareness of the harm that can be caused by disposing of used vegetable oil through the home’s waste water system: not only does it block waste water pipes and impede the operations of treatment facilities, but it also has a negative impact upon the water cycle and alters the ecosystems of rivers and seas. The oil can be cleaned and recycled for use in the production of biodiesel, a highly ecological fuel whose advantages include reduced emission of pollutant gases that cause the greenhouse effect.

In the social sphere, the sale of clean oil to companies producing biodiesel helps Madre Coraje may finance its other activities. Specifically, the association also employs used vegetable oil to make bars of soap which, together with other aid material, is sent to Peru and other Latin America.

The NGDO has 10 used vegetable oil containers located at different sites in Jerez, such as shopping centres and other busy places. In a pilot test with two of these containers, each with a capacity 600 litres, located in two shopping centres, the association has collected 4,500 litres of oil since January. Madre Coraje forecasts that it will collect 6,000 litres of used oil per month, initially, using these ten containers. The association hopes to subsequently reach a total of 40 containers throughout the city.

abertis’ participation in this project forms part of its Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Plan, which contemplates the minimising of environmental impact and a deep-rooted involvement with the community and social fabric. aumar is one of the business units that shares in this strategic plan. In fact, the company’s commitment to the environment was made evident in 2002 when aumar became the first European motorway operator to achieve ISO 14001 Quality and Environmental Management certification.

For its part, the Madre Coraje Association is an NGDO based in Jerez de la Frontera which works throughout Spain in the collection, classification and recycling of pollutant products (used vegetable oils, medicines, toners, mobile phones and computer equipment). As a result of its recycling activities, the association is able to make shipments of humanitarian aid and, at the same time, obtain financing for its projects. Madre Coraje has spent 15 years recycling the used vegetable oil it collects from collaborating establishments (hotels and restaurants, hospitals, schools, etc.) and which is delivered by the general public to the association’s headquarters.