Biofuel-powered bin trucks to halve council carbon footprint

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council will more than halve its carbon footprint when its kerbside waste and recycling trucks swap diesel for a low-carbon biofuel next month.

With carbon emissions up to 98% lower than diesel according to government conversion figures, the move to hydrogenated vegetable oil will make the borough's air cleaner and the council's waste and recycling collections more environmentally friendly.

As part of its work to tackle the climate emergency by becoming a carbon-neutral council by December 2025, the council already uses this biofuel in all 25 of its grass mowers, eight sweepers, two tipper trucks and a small van.

With this swap to biofuel about to get under way, Serco, which runs local waste and recycling services on behalf of the council, has also started trialling a zero-emission electric bin truck for its kerbside collections in the borough.

Supplied by e-fleet solutions provider VEV and Refuse Vehicle Solutions (RVS), the zero-emission bin truck will take to the streets across Basingstoke and Deane as part of a six-week pilot scheme.

The loan electric waste truck was previously powered by diesel but has been refurbished and recycled into a more environmentally friendly vehicle. The trial will provide important information to support the council's drive to continue reducing its impact on the environment in support of its climate emergency declared in 2019.

Cabinet Member for the Climate and Ecological Emergency Cllr Chris Tomblin said: "We know how important waste and recycling collections are to our residents and I'm pleased this swap to biofuel gives us a way to maintain a reliable service and cut our current carbon footprint by over 1,000 tonnes at the same time.

"Combined with our other carbon-cutting action so far, this swap means the council will have shrunk its carbon footprint by more than 70% since declaring a climate emergency and setting its ambitious target to be carbon neutral by December 2025.

"We are committed to our target and will continue to push forward with climate-positive action as we explore every option to make the council fully carbon neutral. That's why we are piloting the electric vehicle."

Regional Director for Serco Environmental Services George Roach said: "Serco is proud to be partnering with VEV, RVS, Basingstoke and Deane and Hart councils for this pilot which sees preloved diesel vehicles taken off the road and upcycled into low emission electric vehicles, supporting both our and the council's net carbon zero targets."

More information about the council's action on climate change is at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/our-climate-action

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