00:00Japan has launched an initiative called Fry to Fly, encouraging everybody to save their used cooking oil.
00:07Why? To turn it into aviation fuel.
00:10More and more households are hitting the call.
00:14It would take a tremendous amount of waste oil to produce fuel for an aircraft to fly.
00:20But the more people who become aware of this, the more we can collect.
00:24So I hope this initiative will continue to spread and reach more people.
00:29Restaurants have also joined the effort, eager to find greener uses for their waste.
00:36We use cooking oil every day, and it always feels like such a waste just to throw it away.
00:41So when we heard that it could be turned into sustainable aviation fuel, it feels like the best option we
00:48could hope for.
00:49That's why we decided to join the initiative.
00:51Blending recycled cooking oil with conventional jet fuel can cut the life-cycle carbon emissions of air travel by 80
00:59percent compared to conventional jet fuel alone.
01:02However, despite the enthusiasm from the public, it looks to be a challenge for Japan to meet its goal of
01:09replacing 10 percent of jet fuel with eco-friendly alternatives by 2030.
01:14Currently, Japan's annual output of sustainable aviation fuel is limited to just 30,000 kiloliters, or just 0.3 percent
01:23of total jet fuel use.
01:25Even in Tokyo, the local government only collected a paltry 160 kiloliters in 2024, an amount just enough to keep
01:35a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the air for 17 hours.
01:39But the capital city is stepping up efforts.
01:45We heard that many people simply didn't know how to collect and store their used cooking oil, so we developed
01:50this funnel, called the Edomai funnel, and distributed 13,000 of them.
01:55We were able to raise awareness effectively, which helped in doubling the volume of oil collected.
02:00But scaling up production is easier said than done.
02:07Producing fuel at a large scale means there must be enough customers to buy it.
02:12The price also must meet market expectations as well.
02:16I think the main challenge is whether the quantities and prices buyers are seeking match what we can offer.
02:22The efforts keep spreading as businesses add employee cafeterias and drop off points at chain stores across the country.
02:30The impact of our contribution might be quite limited.
02:34But I do believe it is important for each of us to make efforts so that the resources can be
02:39reused and recycled.
02:40Japan's aviation industry is in a race to become more sustainable.
02:45Future investments in expanding capacity to meet its 2030 goal now hinge on the country's success in securing enough feedstock.
02:53Ryan Wu, Ted Chen, and Yvonne Yang for Taiwan Plus.
02:57us.
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