Refuse truck

BCP Council to trial waste collections using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Pool  (BCP) Council’s waste collections could soon be run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) following an agreement with a fuel and lubricant supplier to trial the environmentally friendly fuel in two of its refuse vehicles.

HVO is an advanced renewable and sustainable fuel that offers a 90% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, helping with the council’s climate emergency declaration and pledge to make operations carbon neutral by 2030.

The fuel is created by collecting cooking oil waste and putting it through a hydrotreatment process before reusing it in diesel vehicles, rather than disposing it in landfill or as hazardous waste, which will promote sustainable resource management as part of the council’s operations.

It can also be used as a drop-in alternative to regular diesel with no modifications or changes necessary to the existing fleet, saving money, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The trial, which will last one year, will deliver a carbon dioxide saving of around 40 metric tonnes per vehicle (equivalent to 11 hot air balloons of carbon dioxide) and will open up the potential for the fuel to be used within the remainder of the fleet, increasing the environmental benefit and savings across the council.

Commenting, BCP Council's Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste, Councillor Mark Anderson said: “This is an important trial that helps us work towards the government’s waste strategy pledge to eliminate food waste to landfill by 2030 by reusing cooking oil waste and converting it into HVO fuel as an alternative, environmentally friendly fuel in our vehicles.

“It supports our sustainable environment objective by promoting sustainable resource management, so I am very interested to see how our refuse vehicles progress through this trial.” 

Councillor Mike Greene, BCP’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Sustainability added:

“This partnership provides us with the opportunity to explore the environmental benefits and operational impact of this alternative fuel within a large municipal fleet and is another initiative alongside electric vehicles and hydrogen technology that must be considered as part of our longer term fleet strategy.

“If successful, it could be the benchmark for our transition to a cleaner, greener fleet.”

PSE Mag

PSE February/ March 2024

Digital Infrastructure - the key to shaping the future of our rural communities

Dive into our latest edition for February/March!

 

Videos...

View all videos
Online Conference

Presenting

2024 Online Conferences

In partnership with our community of public sector leaders responsible for procurement and strategy across local authorities and the wider public sector, we’ve devised a collaborative calendar of conferences and events for leaders of industry to listen, learn and collaborate through engaging and immersive conversation.

All our conferences are CPD accredited, which means you can gain points to advance your career by attending our online conferences. Also, the contents are available on demand so you can re-watch at your convenience.

Public Sector Executive Podcast

Ep 51. Diversity, equality and representation with Stuart Love, Chief Executive of Westminster City Council

It is the role of local government leaders to make the decisions that will best deliver for the communities that they represent. That much is obvious.
 

How can they do this, however, if they are not accurately representative of those very communities?
 

Great strides have been made in ensuring that everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, or social class is represented in some way within local government. Chief Executive of Westminster City Council Stuart Love joins host Dan Benn to talk about why this work is important, the different work that is being done in Westminster, and how his background influences his stance on equality and diversity.

More articles...

View all