What we throw away could soon be used to power our cars, if projects to produce ethanol from commercial waste are ramped up

Some companies are exploring the environmental and financial benefits of putting waste to good use and are developing technology to produce bioethanol

Magazine paper company UPM Kymmene and renewable fuel supplier Lassila & Tikanoja are currently running pilot tests to produce bioethanol from the pulp-based waste created by the paper industry

Industrial and household waste is vastly under-utilised and is usually burned or disposed of in a landfill. Decaying waste can generate methane which is even more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxid

Using it to produce a cleaner type of fuel could also help reach EU's target that 10 percent of the bloc' transport fuel should come from renewable sources by 2020

Ethanol burns with a greater efficiency than gasoline, thereby emitting less carbon dioxide