THE Oxford inventor of a green machine that could solve the energy needs of the Third World is being backed by the United Nations, writes Chris Koenig.

Eric LaMont Gregory, working with Professor Terence Ryan, of Green College, Oxford, has invented a device that reduces organic waste to carbonised briquettes, which can then be used as smokeless fuel.

Now the United Nations Environment Programme is supporting the introduction of the machine to Nairobi, Kenya.

A smaller version of the system is already in successful use in a rural part of Kenya.

The apparatus operates by pyrolisis, burning without oxygen. The process produces gases and oil as by-products.

The machine could put an end to the heaps of rubbish that cause disease in many parts of the world.

It could also improve people's health by allowing them to live in a less smoky atmosphere.

UN programme officer Christian Lambrechts attended a lunch at Green College before inspecting a prototype of the machine, produced at Pipaway Engineering, Milton Park, near Abingdon.

He said: "The project has the potential to address the issues of indoor air pollution, energy and forestry, waste and sanitation all together by converting organic waste into useful products."

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