Council Bin Lorries to Be Powered By Cooking Oil
Claimed that new fleet will reduce carbon emissions by 90%
Council plans to source some of the oil from local restaurants
|
Lithium Battery Believed to Have Caused Smugglers Way Fire Probe Launched After Death at Smugglers Way Tory Councillors Say Christmas Tree Collection 'a Shambles' Council Considers Extending Food Waste Collection Service Register for your newsletter from: |
June 21, 2023
Wandsworth Council has announced that it is to invest in a new fleet of refuse trucks that will be powered by cooking oil.
It says that the use of vegetable oil rather than diesel in the vehicles will improve air quality and deliver a 90 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.
32 new refuse trucks have been ordered that are powered by used vegetable oil as part of wider efforts to reduce the council’s carbon footprint and improve the reliability of the fleet. They will replace the borough’s existing fleet of vehicles which the council says have been in use long beyond the eight years usually recommended, becoming increasingly unreliable and prone to breakdowns. No indication has been given at this stage as to when the new vehicles will start operating.
By using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) the borough’s new refuse lorries will also bring about a 30 per cent reduction in particulates according to the council.
HVO fuel is a second-generation biofuel that can be sourced from used cooking oil.
The switch means the council can tie up with local restaurants to recycle their used cooking oils.
Judi Gasser, Wandsworth’s Cabinet Member for Environment recently met staff and owners of the Pig and Whistle gastropub in Earlsfield to learn more about its initiative to recycle its waste vegetable oils.
She said, “This is a really exciting initiative. We are just about to buy new refuse and recycling lorries which will run on recycled vegetable oil which will mean huge reductions in the council’s carbon footprint. Using vegetable oil instead of diesel will cut the emissions generated by our refuse service by 90 per cent.
“Switching to more environmentally friendly fuels will have a really positive effect on air quality and provide enormous benefits to our residents.
“And with the borough boasting so many pub and restaurant businesses, we will be hoping to build relationships with them, so that Wandsworth vehicles can run on Wandsworth vegetable oil.
“The council has some very challenging carbon reduction targets. Making this switch will play a big role in achieving those targets.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
