We all know the advantage of bulk buying. Lower costs. But did you know you could be helping to reduce noise, wear and tear on the road and generally help reduce carbon emissions?

As reported recently in the Ely Standard, the Cambridgeshire ACRE charity has set up a community oil buying scheme in the Cambridgeshire area which can save up to £50 per delivery per customer. For Little Thetford residential customers, the scheme costs £20 per year to join. The membership form can be obtained from our village coordinator, Steve Merrell, or from Cambridgeshire ACRE here.

Such schemes are not of course new. The nearest scheme run by the nation-wide Oil Club is the Sutton-in-the-Isle, Wilburton & Stretham Heating Oil Club. This is a similar scheme to the Cambridgeshire ACRE scheme. Membership of the oil club is free and members can save up to £50 per delivery. Other counties run similar schemes such as one run in Somerset.

All such schemes save money for the membership by coordinating deliveries, thus saving on delivery costs, which suppliers pass on to the members. In addition, as there should be fewer journeys into the village, such schemes reduce village traffic, cutting accidents and contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions.

See this booklet (PDF) for further information or contact us. We will pass your details on to Steve Merrell.

John McCullough