The Wombles might be best known for the cunning use of rubbish on Wimbledon Common but an intrepid explorer is hoping to out do them.

At the weekend 34-year-old Londoner Andy Pag was next to the common’s famous windmill launching his mission to race round the world in a truck that is not only made from junk but runs entirely on rubbish.

The eco-adventurer has recycled an old school bus turning it into a state of the art eco-motor home that can be fuelled with waste cooking oil thrown out by restaurants thanks to new green technology.

Mr Pag, who has spent 13 years planning the trip, said: “I’ve no idea how easy it will be to find used cooking oil in places like Iran, India or Brazil but it’s going to be fun finding out.

“Driving around the world is a massive challenge, and trying to do it using sustainable fuels, with a tight carbon budget makes this the toughest expedition I’ve ever attempted.”

The explorer has already driven a chocolate powered lorry to Timbuktu using waste cocoa butter and organised the Grease to Greece Rally where teams had to scavenge chip-fat to power their vehicles across Europe.

For this adventure the first stop is central London for a fill up at Uptown Oils - a company producing fuel from cooking oil collected across the capital.

When full, the bio-truck has a range of around 5,000 miles, but Mr Pag intends to keep the tank topped up during the 12 month journey from chip shops and burger bars along the route through Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and the Americas.

The expedition’s CO2 output is being monitored by experts and every effort has been made to avoid fossil fuels. Cooking is on a woodgas stove, washing is with water heated by the sun and lighting is by ultra low energy LED bulbs from the Good Energy Shop.

Regular updates will be posted on the expedition website biotruckexpedition.org where followers can track the expedition’s progress.