Zero-emission bin collections

Bin collection is, by nature, a dirty task. However, councils around the country have been working on making collections cleaner by using zero-emission

Electric refuse collection vehicles (eRCVs) are increasingly being used by councils to reduce emissions, comply with clean air zones, and offer quieter operation during early morning collections. The low and predictable milage of eRCVs also makes range and charging considerations less of an issue as it is for other heavy vehicles.

Enfield Council has taken delivery of its first fully-electric 26 tonne refuse truck from Renault. The E-Tech D Wide truck is the first of four to be delivered and will service the households of the London Borough of Enfield, with the remaining three vehicles expected to be on the road by the summer.

The refuse collections are expected to clock up around 50 miles per day and will be charged at The Civic Centre in Enfield Town or the Morson Road depot, all of which are fitted with dedicated charging points.

Enfield Council’s cabinet member for environment, Cllr Rick Jewell, said: “Enfield Council has been working in partnership with Renault Trucks UK for more than a year on the development of the electric refuse truck. Prototypes went through extensive testing and road trials right here in Enfield.

“We were extremely happy with how the vehicles performed in our waste collection operations, demonstrating high performance and reliability, even along our longer routes, and very good battery life. This performance is critical for a large, busy, London borough.”

Trialling electric bin lorries

In January, South Tyneside Council began trialling an electric refuse collection vehicle to see how it performs against that of a conventional diesel engine. The analysis includes monitoring the impact on the battery of frequent starts and stops and bin lifts, the charge-up requirements, impact on staff working patterns, and the suitability of the truck on the Borough’s varied collection rounds, in different neighbourhoods and streets and on different gradients.

South Tyneside Council was the first local authority in the country to hire an electric refuse collection vehicle of this type from municipal vehicle hire company CTS Hire on a short-term arrangement.

Back in 2021, the City of London Corporation became the first UK governing body to run a full fleet of five eRCVs, collecting residents’ waste and recycling in the Square Mile. The 18-tonne and 26-tonne trucks are powered by lithium-ion batteries and can complete a full shift on one charge.

Also in 2021, Manchester City Council invested in 27 eRCVs to replace almost half of its

Electric Vehicles

fleet. At the time, it was estimated that the swap would result in a reduction of carbon emissions by almost 900 tonnes a year. The adoption of the electric refuse trucks followed two years of successful trials with Biffa.

Electric refuse collection vehicles were also introduced in Nottingham as part of the city’s plan to become the UK’s first carbonneutral city by 2028. The two Dennis Eagle eCollect fully electric refuse collection vehicles replaced their diesel equivalents and are estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the city by 52 tonnes a year and save the taxpayer £32,000 a year in running costs.

A drive to go cleaner

Greater Cambridge Shared Waste, a partnership between South Cambridgeshire District and Cambridge City Councils, has also been using an electric bin lorry – which marks the start of a drive to replace all the waste service’s collection lorries with electric or hydrogen vehicles as their existing trucks come to the end of their working lives.

Fully loaded, the truck weighs around 26 tonnes and typically takes around seven to eight hours to recharge, meaning it can easily complete a full day of collection rounds and return to the depot with charge remaining in the battery.

The vehicle has five specially designed battery packs generating 300kWh of power and a 200kW electric motor, making it substantially quieter than existing bin collection vehicles.

Meanwhile, in Exeter, three electric lorries entered operation in August last year. The vehicles are powered by electricity produced by the Council’s solar farm and battery storage facility at Marsh Barton. It is planned for all 15 of the city’s refuse vehicles to become electric.

The council plans to be net zero carbon by 2030. It is anticipated that the switch will save approximately 27,000kg of carbon per year.

Cllr Duncan Wood, lead councillor for climate change added: “These trucks go out across the city - there are 15 of them at the depot, and we now have our first three that are electric.

“Exeter’s refuse vehicles are out every day throughout the city, and each truck runs its engine almost constantly from the moment they go out to when they get back to the depot. That’s 7 to 8 hours of emissions from a truck, collecting around nine tons of rubbish, being moved around by diesel engines throughout our city – that’s what’s going to be saved by using these electric vehicles.”

“This is a significant investment, a significant change to the way we operate. These vehicles will be charged from our solar farm at Water Lane in Marsh Barton. So not only will they be cleaner, the electricity we use we know will be green electricity, so it is a definite plus.”

ODS – Oxford City Council’s wholly owned company – took on an electric refuse collection vehicle, following a successful trial which allowed ODS to assess the vehicle’s performance and suitability to Oxford’s streets ahead of the delivery.

ODS currently has 27 refuse trucks and once each refuse vehicle is replaced with an electric model, 750 tonnes less CO2 will be emitted per year.

The electric refuse truck, which was built by Dennis Eagle has both a quieter engine and lifting machinery than diesel trucks, in addition to zero exhaust emissions.

When offering feedback to the trial, Oxford residents commented on the benefits of the quieter engine and how it was ideal for busy urban environments.

The arrival of the electric refuse collection vehicle is funded in part by the £41m Energy Superhub Oxford project led by Oxford City Council and Pivot Power, part of EDF Renewables. L

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