Eco fuel for Pendle’s bin wagons and street sweepers

At the October Policy and Resources Committee, councillors voted to make the switch from diesel to bio-gas made from vegetable oil as a pilot project which will start early in 2022.

Coun. Sarah Cockburn-Price chairs Pendle Council’s Climate Emergency Working Group which put forward the proposal.

She said: “It’s fantastic that we have been able to persuade the committee to invest in this pilot, so Pendle becomes an early adopter for this technology, which can lead to substantial reductions in CO2.

“We are putting our Climate Emergency Plan into action, investing in measures which protect our environment. Pendle Council is showing its commitment to reducing harmful emissions from our 16 large goods vehicles.

“We are thinking globally and taking action locally."

David Walker, Pendle Council’s Environmental Services Manager, did the research for this pilot project.

He explained: “We’re not ready to cover the cost or logistics of moving the fleet to electricity. The next best thing for us was to investigate more eco-friendly fuels so we can continue to deliver services in the most efficient way.

“Pendle Council is one of only a handful of councils to be investing in more eco-friendly fuels. Go Plant Fleet Services provide our fleet and they are supporting our efforts.

“Go Plant is providing two fuel tanks for our depot to help us investigate the benefits of HVO fuel made from hydrogenated vegetable oils and gas to liquid GTL fuels which are a synthetic alternative to diesel.

“Emission savings are about 2.30kg per litre lower than diesel fuel and would provide a significant carbon saving of over 500,000 kg of CO2 per year based on the total amount of fuel we bought last year."