Forest of Dean adds two e-RCVs to its fleet

The two zero-emission RQ-E Romaquips are said to be the first battery powered heavyweight kerbside-sort vehicles to be used in Gloucestershire to undertake household collections.

Kerbside-sort is a method of recycling whereby the householder pre-sorts their materials, typically into a box or bag, before crews collect. This way of making collections is thought to help eliminate any materials that could cause contamination and consequently reduce the quality and value of the items collected.

While many urban councils have begun the switch to electric and other low-emission vehicles, the district council said it believes it is among the first rural authorities in England to embrace the heavy-fleet technology for kerbside-sort recycling, following a trial last year. The trial was supported by the council’s new waste service partner, Ubico.

‘First in the county’

Councillor Andy Moore, portfolio holder for waste and recycling at Forest of Dean district council, said: “Moving to zero-emission vehicles is key to reducing the carbon footprint of the services we provide and while some Gloucestershire authorities are using battery powered vehicles to support their wider waste and street cleansing functions, we are delighted that these vehicles are the very first in the county to be used to make collections from the kerbside.”

Councillor Chris McFarling, cabinet member for climate emergency at the council, said: “Transport is by far the biggest contributor to the council’s own carbon emissions, accounting for almost 90%, most of which can be attributed to our waste, recycling and street cleansing services.

“These new vehicles mark the start of our plans to move more of our fleet over to zero and low-emission alternatives. Their arrival will not only have a positive impact here in the district, helping us to cut emissions and improve air quality, but we hope they will act as a catalyst for other rural authorities that are looking to make the leap to large electric vehicles for their household collections.”

Each vehicle is expected to save close to 30 tonnes of CO2e annually.

Ian Bourton, head of fleet operations at Ubico, said: “Ubico has been instrumental in bringing in new vehicle technologies across our partner councils and we are very proud of the launch of these unique type of electric vehicles that emit zero tailpipe emissions but will still deliver first class kerbside-sort recycling collections for the Forest of Dean district council.”