E85 Ethanol Fuel enjoys very stable pricing, reduces carbon footprint, and already renders Australia less dependant upon foreign oil.

And now, E85 is set to be produced from rubbish, and thereby improve our environment. Australian rubbish will be turned into transport fuel following a process successfully developed by the Coskata company in the USA.

In 2014, Victoria’s Flex Ethanol Australia plant is due to come online. Rubbish will be turned into fuel in a deal that links Coskata in a consortium with GM Holden and the Victorian State government.

Every year, the Victorian plant could potentially turn one million tonnes of household, industrial and building waste into 200 million litres of ethanol, for use in the E85 fuel that is backed by Holden. The Commodore is already E85 compatible and Holden has announced that all future models will be compatible with E85, the green fuel.

James Frawley of Coskata anticipates that ethanol-from-rubbish plants could eventually supply half the world's need for transport fuel, without any impact on land or food use.

Coskata adds that almost any rubbish can be used in ethanol production, including: dirty nappies, used car tyres and even (potentially) cane toads.

Rubbish is converted to a 'syngas' - composed mostly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen - before being fed to micro-organisms that produce ethanol as waste after 'eating' the gas.

"The organism does not care whether that carbon dioxide and nitrogen came from a tyre, a piece of biomass or whatever - it all works the same," said Frawley.

Mike Devereux, Chairman and Managing Director of Holden, said the new Victorian company is an important milestone in the future of Australia’s automotive fuel: “This technology, and the shift towards ethanol-based fuel could, in time, cut Australia’s dependence on petrol by up to 30 percent and make a major contribution to sustainable motoring and greenhouse gas reduction.”

Mr Devereux added that a vehicle’s “well to wheel” CO2 emissions could be reduced by up to 40 percent just by using a fuel that is 85 percent renewable.