MALVERN Hills District Council will soon be replacing diesel in five of its waste and street-cleaning fleet with the greener Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO).
The switch, which will cut carbon emissions in each vehicle by 90 per cent, forms part of the council’s ambition to be a net-zero carbon authority by 2030.
‘Destination Zero’, the council’s strategy to tackle climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, also includes moving the complete waste collection fleet to net-zero vehicles by 2030.
All the council’s other vehicles will also be either electric or net-zero emissions by that date.
HVO is a synthetically made fuel which, created through the hydrotreating of sustainably sourced, waste vegetable oils, can be used as a replacement for diesel as it has an identical chemical composition.
Whilst HVO can be used as a direct replacement for diesel in many existing engines, it is more expensive and is currently 50p per litre more expensive than diesel. Therefore, the council has approved an additional annual budget of £46,000 to enable a trial of this fuel in five of the council’s fleet.
Coun Beverley Nielsen, Malvern Hills District Council’s portfolio holder for environmental services, said: “HVO has been identified as a viable alternative that will significantly reduce emissions in the short-term without the need to purchase new or modify existing vehicles.
“This investment alone will reduce the council’s total carbon emissions by 13 per cent or over 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
“We will also continue to explore the best alternative fuels and energy sources to determine what will be most beneficial for the fleet, and carbon emissions in the longer-term.”
She added it was a ‘real positive step forward’ and said it would make a considerable contribution towards the carbon net-zero by 2030 target.
