Trial of electric recycling vehicles ‘extremely encouraging’ says Council

Anglesey Council says that initial findings following the trial of electric recycling collection vehicles were ‘extremely encouraging‘ and their future use would be significant in meeting decarbonisation targets.

The Council’s Waste Management team conducted the trial during March, having been chosen to host the first trial of the vehicles in partnership with Terberg Matec UK, its waste management contractor, Biffa, and Welsh Government.

Initial findings from the trial have proved extremely encouraging, with data collected showing a significant reduction of CO₂ emissions (414kgs) as well as a saving of £146.34 on fuel over a six-day period.

During the trial, the electric vehicle proved it could cope with the distances covered on collections rounds on the Island, beginning each collection round fully charged, and still holding a charge at the end of the working day. Even after the longest journey of 67 miles, there was still a 25% charge left on the vehicle.

The Council says that tackling climate change is at the forefront of decisions made about its work after its ambitious new roadmap towards becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 was recently approved.

The plan includes increased use of electric vehicles to replace diesel ones and continuing to make EV charging points available to electric vehicle users.

The Council says that its ‘Towards Net Zero Plan 2022-2025’ will provide a co-ordinated response to climate change to ensure that services minimise all greenhouse gas emissions as far as possible, in line with the Welsh Government target of achieving a net zero public sector by 2030 and the whole of Wales by 2050.

Ultra-low emission

According to its Head of Highways, Waste Management and Property, Huw Percy, Anglesey Council was pleased to support the trial and hoped it would support future development across the UK.

Mr Percy said: “This was a very significant trial, as Terberg Matec will use the data collected to inform future development of electric vehicles across the UK. We look forward to seeing how the results can help us plan to replace our current diesel vehicles with electric alternatives over the coming years.

“Replacing our existing recycling collection fleet with electric vehicles would greatly help reduce CO₂ emissions, costs and go a long way towards helping the Council meet its decarbonisation targets.”

“Our corporate fleet already has a number of other electric vehicles, which offer many advantages in terms of a cleaner and quieter environment as well as reducing running costs.”

Anglesey Climate Change Manager, Rhys Williams said: “Achieving net zero carbon status by 2030 will be a challenge for the Council, but by working with our partners, including Welsh Government, we hope to use new technologies – such as these electric vehicles – to meet that target and deliver services in a more environmentally sustainable manner.

“As well as this most recent trial, we have also adopted a new long-term electric vehicle charging plan to provide charging infrastructure for the Island to help reduce carbon footprint.

“Anglesey already has one of the highest number of EV charging points per head of population in Wales; and we want to be in a position to build on this when new funding becomes available.”

The Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The future use and funding of these type of electric vehicles would also be a great illustration of our commitment to combatting climate change. Not only are they ultra-low emission, but in collecting kerbside recycling they would play a crucial role in collecting the material needed to decarbonise the wider economy and our communities.”