Progress on electrifying the councils waste vehicle fleet continues with the addition of new battery powered vans

Councillor Lidia Arciszewska, Executive Member for Environment at West Oxfordshire District Council, said:

“We are committed to continuing to provide residents with a high performing waste service as well as reducing our carbon emissions.  

“It’s important that we invest in vehicles that are fit for purpose, affordable and help to reduce our emissions where possible. We replace our vehicles on a rolling schedule and in this phase we are replacing deisel vans with electric vehicles which will not only help tackle the climate emergency but they will also be cheaper over their lifetime, saving council tax payers money. 

“It forms part of our wider plans to get to net-zero carbon by 2030 and we are also exploring replacing some of our bigger waste vehicles with electric as the technology is improving.” 

At October’s Executive meeting, councillors approved plans to buy three new fully battery-powered utility vans, which will be used by Ubico, the Council’s waste and recycling delivery partner.  

Their arrival will bring the total number of electric vans used across the waste, street cleansing and ground maintenance service, up to six. They will be powered by fully green electricity at the Council’s depot. 

The Council has also agreed to invest in an ultra-narrow vehicle which will be used to improve kerbside collections from properties in the hardest to access locations and will also be upgrading its vehicle charging infrastructure to be able to run more electric vehicles in future. 

In addition, the Council has put forward plans to procure, or lease, a further six vehicles, including four food waste vehicles and two heavy vehicles which could include those powered by electric as part of its fleet replacement strategy.