Somerset's bin lorries could run on vegetable oil

SOMERSET'S bin lorries could run on vegetable oil to cut carbon emissions.

Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) is looking at replacing its diesel-powered vehicles with more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Waste bosses plan to replace 22 vehicles with electric vehicles or refurbishing them to extend their service life.

The the remainder of SWP's fleet may soon be run on hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) instead of diesel before they are replaced.

SWP has 108 recycling trucks and 43 refuse trucks operating out of depots in Bridgwater, Evercreech, Taunton and Yeovil.

Of the 22 vehicles which need replacing by 2024, 10 will be replaced with electric vehicles, eight by diesel trucks and four will be refurbished and redirected to school and communal collections at a cost of £5,566,000.

The remaining trucks, ordered in 2019, are expected to last until 2030.

SWP managing director Mickey Green said in a written report: “We are currently exploring using HVO in our front-line vehicles, either across the contract or at one or more depots.

“This is not a long-term solution (it lowers emissions significantly, but is still based on an internal combustion engine), but it may significantly help us achieve our de-carbonisation goals in the short- to medium-term.”

HVO is created from waste material and residues from food production such as waste oil from restaurants and takeaways.

It can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90per cent, as well as delivering a reduction in NOx and particulate emissions.

Diesel vehicles can run on HVO without the need for mechanical conversion. However, the price of HVO is around 20 per cent more expensive than normal diesel.

Following a successful experiment at its Evercreech depot, SWP is currently trialling HVO on a number of front-line waste vehicle, with the costs being split equally between SWP and its contractor Suez.

Switching to HVO would cost SWP an additional £1.2m but would save more than 4,100 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Mr Green added: “At current HVO and diesel rates, the expected cost per tonne of carbon saved is £294, which is more cost effective than that achieved by electrification of the fleet.

“As we would fund the increase in fuel required and the difference between the prices of fuel, then there are risks, given the volatility of the fuel markets."