Council to trial bin lorry vegetable oil fuel

The council has already converted some of its vehicle fleet to electric power

Bin lorries and street cleaning vehicles in part of Nottinghamshire could run on vegetable oil in the future in a bid to cut fleet emissions by a third.

Newark and Sherwood District Council has set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2035.

While part of its fleet are electric, officials have said alternative fuel sources are needed for those covering larger, more rural areas.

Officers have said they were now looking at a trial of using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel.

Greg Dowson, environmental policy and projects officer, told a Policy and Performance Improvement Committee meeting the trial was part of a drive to cut emissions across the authority, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“They do want to make absolutely sure it won’t cause any issues,” he said about the need for a trial.

“Because of the physical geography of our district, electrification isn’t quite there yet, which is why we need to switch to an alternative fuel source.”

Other measures included the installation of solar panels on leisure buildings to save £42,318 in energy costs over next 12 months and reduce carbon dioxide by 74 tonnes.

No details of a timescale on the oil trial have been confirmed.