Barnsley Council to invest £450,000 in electric bin lorry

Barnsley Council is to add a new electric bin lorry to its fleet

An electric bin lorry is set to be added to Barnsley Council's fleet of vehicles as part of a £6m investment.

Councillors are expected to approve the £450,000 purchase at a meeting on Wednesday.

The new bin lorry is among 125 new vehicles and pieces of equipment the council hopes to purchase in 2022-23.

It will be used "primarily for commercial waste" but may be put into action on household waste collection rounds in future, the council said.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council already has 33 electric vehicles, which accounts for about 15% of its fleet.

Chris Lamb, the council's cabinet spokesperson for environment and transportation, said: "Making greener choices in the vehicles we use as a council is helping reduce carbon emissions and decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.

"We're working towards reducing our carbon emissions to net-zero by 2040, and sooner than that if we can.

"One of the challenges is how we can shift away from diesel when it comes to the larger vehicles and machinery we need to use in some of the work we do as a council."