Fuelling a greener future: West Berkshire's waste collection vehicles

West Berkshire Council is pleased to announce a major step forward in our commitment to sustainability - all our waste collection vehicles that are used to collect weekly food waste from households, and the delivery vehicle for bins, boxes and bags across the district, are now running on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a cutting-edge renewable diesel.

Made from certified sustainable materials, HVO can replace diesel directly and offers up to a 90% reduction in fossil carbon dioxide emissions, making it significantly better for the environment than regular diesel. This initiative is perfectly aligned with our ambitious goal to achieve net zero across the district by 2030.

By making this switch, we anticipate replacing over 67,000 litres of diesel with this renewable fuel over the next year. This transition is expected to save around 230 tonnes of CO₂ annually, which is equivalent to the carbon footprint of over 100 round-trip flights from London to New York!

Expanding on West Berkshire's net zero ambition, an electric Refuse Collection Vehicle (eRCV) will also be trialled this autumn to further develop plans for more sustainable services.

Cllr Stuart Gourley, Executive Member for Environment and Highways at West Berkshire Council, said:

"This is an exciting leap forward in our mission to create a more green, clean and sustainable West Berkshire, and continuing to improve our waste services.

"By adopting HVO, we're not just cutting emissions, we're driving real change toward a greener, healthier future for everyone in our community. This is just one of the many steps we're taking to push the boundaries of what's possible for our environment and set an example for others to follow and ensure we meet our carbon neutrality targets by 2030."

David Matthews, General Manager at Veolia West Berkshire, said:

"Veolia has significant experience in managing the transition to alternative fuels and is delighted to be supporting West Berkshire Council with this move to greener fuels for the local collection fleet.

"Making this change will create a more sustainable service for residents by reducing emissions that impact on the environment, which also contributes towards Veolia's wider goal of ecological transformation."

West Berkshire is on the move toward a cleaner, greener future!