Going Green with EV trucks
A lot has been said and written about Britain’s shift to buying electric cars and the impact on our climate. As an industry, one of the most significant issues we’ve faced over the past few years was working out how to generate enough electricity to power a 26-tonne dustcart. As part of our broader commitment to sustainability, we’re working with partners who’ve answered that question.
Paper Round is one of our key partners in Central London. We understand that they are the first to offer commercial collection services using fully electrified vehicles in the area. They have retrofitted a decade-old diesel vehicle with the latest EV technology, meaning they can now travel 200km per charge to collect waste and recyclable material from customers across the city. The retrofit has given a new lease of life to a vehicle that would only have a short working lifespan left. Like many vehicles operating in city centres, Paper Round are “double shifting” the truck, which is excellent news because it means double the carbon saving. There are plans to launch more vehicles across London in 2022, each saving circa 50 tonnes p.a. of CO2e.
Attending a recent Better Bankside event, our Head of External Affairs, Dave Gudgeon, said
“There’s no doubt that our clients crave sustainable solutions from us. Our Innovation Consultants and Sustainability Managers talk to people about Reducing, Reusing and Recycling to support carbon reduction plans. As we go forwards, there’s a need to widen our field of vision and look at how materials are collected. Our MORE program ensures we help clients cut out unnecessary collections and the associated vehicle movements. In addition, our Supply Chain team are working with many regional partners across the UK to further support our clients in addressing the Scope 3 – Other Indirect – emissions from collection services.”
With COP26 just days away, the evidence is clear, our decisions directly impact our climate. The UK’s 2030 emissions reduction target is 68%, so the need to share best practices, innovate and deliver on change is now to stand any chance of achieving our goals.
