Veolia and Westminster City Council have announced the rollout of the “UK’s largest” electric refuse collection fleet.
Westminster Council says it has invested £20m in the 45 new zero-emission trucks which will be introduced over the coming weeks. The council says the vehicles are powered directly by energy generated from the waste they collect by drawing electric power from an adjacent energy recovery facility.
Westminster will gradually replace its entire 80-truck fleet in what it calls the “biggest decarbonisation programme” of its kind by a UK local authority. Many of these vehicles, built by Dennis Eagle Ltd in Warwick, will be housed at the new fully electric depot at Landmann Way, near Bermondsey.
The London-based local authority says its fleet, operated by its environmental partner Veolia, completes 50 million collections every year and each electric vehicle saves up to 89% CO2e compared to a diesel-powered fleet. The refuse fleet also includes 90 electric street cleaning vehicles ranging from e-bikes to e-sweepers.
Using the waste we collect to power the electric fleet is an exciting innovation because that creates a local loop of energy.
Veolia worked to procure, design and operate the new depot and charging infrastructure which the council says will be capable of charging 54 vehicles simultaneously. The council also says smart charging will allow the partnership to support the National Grid by receiving power at non-peak times to maximise local resources and strengthen the Grid’s resilience.
The South East London Combined Heat and Power facility (SELCHP) will provide the site with 3,300MWh of electricity per year via a private wire to charge the e-fleet, the council says.
Pascal Hauret, Managing Director Veolia UK Municipal said: “It’s fantastic to see our teams working together with Westminster City Council to deliver a cleaner, greener and quieter service for residents, businesses and visitors across the city.
“Using the waste we collect to power the electric fleet is an exciting innovation because that creates a local loop of energy, using local resources to run local services. I’m incredibly proud of the solutions Veolia and Westminster are pioneering together to build the sustainable municipal services we need, now and in the future.”
