RESIDENTS have been praised for recycling 1,000 litres of used cooking oil – enough to make a quarter of a million cups of tea.

The waste oil was collected during 2013 through a scheme involving Hartlepool Council and eco-firm Living Fuels.

Oil is collected in a tank provided by Living Fuels at the council’s Household Waste Recycling Centre in Burn Road and then taken to the company’s plant where it is converted naturally into a clean bio-liquid, known as LF100.

This liquid is then used to generate carbon neutral electricity which can be supplied to the National Grid at times of unexpectedly high power demand.

When full, the tank contains enough oil to produce the energy required to power a home for an entire year, and just one litre of waste oil can create enough green energy to make 240 cups of tea.

The oil collected during 2013 was converted into 3,750 kilowatt hours of electricity which is enough to brew 250,000 cups of tea.

Fiona Srogi, Hartlepool Council’s waste management team leader, said: “The scheme is an excellent solution to the problem of what to do with old cooking oil. Not only does it prevent costly damage to drains, it is also a great way of generating clean energy.”