Ecological innovators. Love them Ozzies!

They're really leading on the eco-innovation front. What a delightful story this is; full of hope for us all. An innovative Australian technology that converts plastic bags, ice-cream containers, milk crates and wheely bins into clean diesel fuel suitable for cars, trucks, trains and buses is seducing environmentally conscious investors and local governments across Europe. Starting this year, OzmoTech will ship 31 plants - all manufactured in Melbourne - to 14 European countries, beginning with Germany later this year. The Berlin plant will transform 42,000 tonnes of plastic waste into 38 million litres of diesel fuel annually. In 2007, plants will be established in the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, followed by Luxembourg, Belgium, Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and the Czech Republic. "We have a lack of energy and we have a lack of fossil fuels," says an EU business spokesman. "And we are realising now that in our waste there's more potential in converting some of those products into fuel. "Of course, there is money to be earned but most investor groups we have now are also concerned about the planet. So the profit is one factor but so is the future of the planet. "It was not sexy to invest in garbage and waste, but now it is becoming a professional, innovative market and therefore also interesting for venture capitalists to invest in," he says. "In Europe, people are realising that if you don't invest in waste, in clean water, clean air and clean soil, then your children and grandchildren won't have a life in 25 years." Technological advances helped EnvoSmart convince governments and venture capitalists that alternative fuels generated from waste were a sensible investment. Local authorities were also under pressure across the EU to reduce landfills. Under a Brussels directive, biodegradable waste going to landfill must be reduced to 35 per cent of the total within 10 years. "In the past, industrial processes for recycling plastic wastes were not profitable, because fuel was not produced in sufficient quantities, but with the Australian technology, the output is raised to 99 per cent. Each kilo of plastic gives almost one litre of diesel. Boats, trucks, buses, generators, every type of diesel motor could use the diesel produced." OzmoTech chief executive Garry Baker says the Melbourne group has orders for more than 60 plants worldwide, of which only 14 are destined for Australia. OzmoTech purchased the intellectual property rights to the ThermoFuel technology from a Japanese inventor three years, refining and advancing the process. OzmoTech has no competitors in the energy-to-waste industry. "As far as energy from waste and the waste-management industry broadly is concerned that has not worried us because we're working in a very specific field," Middleton says. He says he likes to give potential clients the example of one ice-cream container stuffed with plastic wastes that could be turned into diesel fuel that would drive a car 11 kilometres. "This plastic will go to landfill but we can turn it into something genuinely beneficial. It reduces demands on fossil fuels. Its environmental benefits are broad. Some of them are only modest. Regarding air emissions, the benefits are marginal but still are genuine. "There is a perception that alternative fuel is still backyard stuff. But I think we're right on the cusp now. There is a genuine shift in acceptance that this type of technology is operationally effective and financially viable." We also try, as you can see here. One day I hope we can come close to matching the scale of what these guys are achieving. More power to you, Ozmotech!