A holiday recycling campaign launched by Neste invites Finns to collect the fat from baked Christmas hams in an effort to produce enough 100 percent renewable fuel to drive around the world three times. The festive charity stunt aims to demonstrate the power of recycling and circular economy.
This holiday season, Finns are being called upon to donate the excess fat drizzling from their home-cooked Christmas hams for a good cause. Grocery stores and service stations across the country have set up collection points for ham fat. The collected fat will go on to be processed and finally turned into a diesel by Finland-headed oil refiner and renewable fuel producer Neste.
The result will be the world’s first Christmas diesel. According to Neste, by producing 100 percent renewable diesel from waste fat, the fuel’s carbon footprint can be reduced by up to 90 percent when compared with regular diesel.
Enough to circumnavigate the world thrice
Baked ham is a staple at Finnish Christmas dinners, with a whopping 7 000 tonnes consumed annually by the nation of 5.5 million over each festive season. Neste calculates that the fat contained in an average-sized ham could produce enough fuel for a 3 km drive in a regular car. Overall, the campaign could produce enough fuel to drive around the world three times.
– We are constantly on the look for new renewable raw materials that we can turn into low-emission fuels. At the moment, it is not commercially viable to source waste fats directly from homes or even small restaurants, but that might change in the future. Our goal with this campaign is to bring the idea of circular economy closer to consumers, encourage recycling and environmental consciousness, and of course spread some holiday cheer, explained Osmo Kammonen, VP, Communications and Brand Marketing, Neste in a statement.
The Kinkkutemppu (“Ham Trick”) campaign encourages ham cooks around the country to donate their ham fat for a good cause. After the campaign, the fuel will be sold at Neste’s service stations, with all the proceeds donated to charity. The campaign will support two organisations: one that collects and distributes Christmas presents to low-income households, and one that arranges for sports opportunities for socially excluded youths.
