Lancashire’s first electric bin wagon takes to the road in Lancaster

The wagon is the first of its kind in Lancashire to be used by a local authority to deliver a waste collection service.

The vehicle will be joined by a second wagon of the same type and model later this year and replace the two conventional diesel wagons currently used for Lancaster City Council’s Business Waste Collection Service.

The daily service collects more than around 330 tonnes of waste each month from city and town centre shops, pubs, offices and other commercial businesses across the district.

The two fully electric vehicles aim to support the council’s ongoing commitment to tackling the climate emergency by reducing the carbon emissions generated by its operations.

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Welcoming its arrival, Coun Kevin Frea, cabinet member with responsibility for climate action, said: “In 2018 /19, our fleet used 453,130 litres of diesel to deliver vital services to residents, resulting in 1,218 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

“We’ve got a fleet of 176 vehicles of all shapes and sizes and already made significant progress in switching to electric across many of our cars and vans.

"Even so, of all our vehicles, it is our waste collection wagons which consume the most fuel and emit the greatest amount of CO2, so this further step forward will play a key part in our carbon reduction plans.”

To find out more about what the council is doing across its services to tackle climate change you can visit www.lancaster.gov.uk/climate-change