Electric vehicle trial could pave way for less polluting rubbish collections

Ubico, the District Council’s waste partner, has put a zero-emission Dennis Eagle eCollect through its paces, making collections from homes across the district and collecting over 94 tonnes of rubbish over a two-week period to judge the vehicle’s performance in a large rural district. 

Transport emissions, largely produced as a result of the Council’s waste, recycling and street cleansing services, account for around 40% of the greenhouse gases produced by the authority’s activities and through the services it delivers to residents.   

A significant reduction in this figure is key to the Council achieving its target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030. 

Councillor Lidia Arciszewska, Executive Member for Environment, including waste and recycling, at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “In the last two to three years the Council has pushed ahead with plans to replace smaller, ageing vehicles like our street sweepers and supervisor vans with electric equivalents to reduce pollution, but this will be the first time a fully electric refuse vehicle has made collections from West Oxfordshire households. 

“Without doubt alternative-fuel vehicles, such as electric, will play a role in providing more sustainable waste collections to our residents and businesses in the future, so we are looking forward to reviewing the results of the trial to understand how well the vehicle performs in a real-world scenario.” 

Ian Bourton, Head of Fleet Operations at Ubico, said: "As an organisation we work with industry colleagues to find the best routes for adopting alternative fuels and we’re delighted to be supporting the District Council with this trial. 

“While requiring greater upfront investment, electric vehicles produce no climate change gases whilst working and with less moving parts, benefit from lower maintenance and reduced day-to-day running costs, so can be a viable option for local authorities looking to decarbonise their waste fleet.  

“We are seeing more and more partner councils successfully transition to heavier battery powered vehicles, often in smaller, urban boroughs, but this test will be a good indicator as to how well we can expect a vehicle of this size to perform in a larger, predominantly rural district like West Oxfordshire.” 

Typically, an electric vehicle such as the eCollect costs less to recharge than would be spent on refuelling a comparable diesel vehicle.  

On loan from manufacturer Dennis Eagle, the test vehicle is fitted with five packs of lithium-ion batteries located under the body to maximise the available payload.  

The District Council’s waste and street cleansing service currently employs three fully electric supervisor vans, three electric sweepers in addition to an electric car. 

Earlier this year, the Council updated and strengthened its Carbon Action Plan which sets out its carbon reduction pathway for achieving net zero by 2030, with a particular focus on making its buildings, vehicles, and waste services more energy efficient. The District Council is also committed to reducing wider district emissions through delivering its Climate Change Strategy 2021-25. 

More information about the actions West Oxfordshire District Council is taking to address the climate and ecological emergencies can be found at: https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/environment/climate-action/