Drive towards low emission fuel continues
A local authority is increasingly switching from diesel to low-emission fuel as part of its drive to be net zero by the end of the decade.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is putting new purchasing arrangements in place as it buys increasing amounts of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO).
A report to be considered by the authority’s Cabinet later this month says that from April the second of four storage tanks will be used for HVO rather than white diesel.
Trevor Johnson, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council's Cabinet member for Environment and Recycling, said:
We buy around 400,000 litres of fuel each year and increasingly we are using HVO rather than diesel for our fleet vehicles, including our recycling and waste vehicles.
Not only is it renewable because it’s based on fat, vegetable waste and other oils, its CO2 emissions are 90 per cent lower than traditional diesel so it’s better for the environment all round.
We anticipate that there will come a point when HVO fuel comprises 70 per cent of the council’s fuel consumption and it makes sense to put the right arrangements in place now to make sure we can buy it as cheaply as possible.”
The Council is committed to having net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and is taking steps such as this within the authority, as well as encouraging others to make a difference by improving walking and cycling routes, improving recycling opportunities and turning weekly collections of food waste into compost or energy.
Trevor Johnson added:
This council is only directly responsible for a small proportion of carbon emissions in the borough but we are in a position where we can set an example by actively cutting our output and encourage others to follow suit.”