Sewage-powered Volkswagen Beetle relies on six ‘movements’ per mile

A car unveiled this week by Wessex Water that runs on methane gas generated from fermented human waste may have a performance comparable with a petrol-powered vehicle, but range may prove a problem; the converted Volkswagen Beetle relies on the waste collected from 70 households over the course of a year to travel 10,000 miles – an efficiency equivalent to six ‘movements’ per mile travelled.

The Bristol-based company chose the VW Beetle because insects naturally break down waste at sewage works to start the treatment process which goes on to produce the biogas.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The car is a useful reminder that biofuel need not always mean petrol or diesel derived from plants – the harvesting of energy from household waste of all types is growing industry.”

If you find the idea of powering your car with sewage-derived gas a little distasteful, a more palatable alternative might be to convert it to run on wine and cheese – or at least bio-ethanol distilled from locally-produced wine and then improved with alcohol extracted from fermented whey, a bi-product of cheese making.

Winemakers operate under a quota system so any excess has to be destroyed or sold for a nominal amount for use as bio-fuel.

The wine is distilled to produce ethanol that is almost entirely pure and requires only a small top up of alcohol to ensure it is suitable for most petrol cars – subject to a simple engine tune.

The result is a car that is able to run on a on a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol, thereby dramatically reducing its emissions.