It’s Time To Stop Trashing EVs

It’s a weekly event that causes no end of tetchy spats as to whose responsibility it is. Some will go to any lengths to avoid doing this weekly ritual. ‘I did it last week’, ‘it’s your turn’ are the oft-heard refrains. You’d think these weekly debates would be about vital world-changing subjects. Mostly though, they relate to that most mundane and tedious of tasks: putting the bins out.

Going further, once the bins are put out, do we give any thought to what happens from when we leave for work to coming home? We don't normally get to see the refuse trucks doing their thing. But if you take a moment to lift the lid off the subject of refuse collection, you’ll find it’s much more than an irksome pile of old junk.

An Opportunity Wasted?

Environmental consultancy Eunomia has had a good look at the subject. Their research on the waste disposal sector called: ‘Ditching Diesel – A Cost-benefit Analysis of Electric Refuse Collection Vehicles’ outlines the benefits of local government upgrading their fleets to electric refuse trucks.

Eunomia’s work uncovered a range of advantages available from using electric waste trucks that could have a positive influence on the decarbonisation agenda at the local level. These include the ability to reduce C02 emissions significantly, improve air quality and, in the longer-term lower the overall costs for refuse collection.

Technological advances are making electric vehicles of all kinds increasingly viable. Look at the ever-increasing range of EV delivery trucks or the none polluting way electric waste trucks use diesel fuel, and it’s clear the reasons for objecting on purely performance terms are ebbing away.

Add on the environmental impacts of converting to EV waste trucks and the advantages quickly mount up. If local governments throughout the UK adopted these new vehicles, they could reduce greenhouse gasses by 290 kilotonnes of CO2 annually. That adds up to the recycling costs for 16 billion plastic bottles not to mention the reduction in harmful diesel particulates in our neighbourhoods.

Investment Is Key

The report acknowledges there are higher initial costs in terms of buying EV waste vehicles and developing the supporting infrastructure. It’s likely it will need some clear forward-thinking for local government to do the right thing, but as report author, Tanguy Tomes adds:

“We hope that our research will help local authorities to build a solid business case for the urgent change that is required: with a reduction in greenhouse gases, harmful air emissions and noise, and with financial savings becoming more likely, the case for electric waste trucks is becoming compelling.”

In This Together

The Truckcraft team applaud the lucid report produced by Eunomia. It’s a well-researched and compelling example of how long-term thinking and a genuine concern for our communities and planet can be addressed to everyone's advantage.

Indeed, it’s the very same philosophy we adopt here at Truckcraft. Offering options based on good product design, a thought for the environment and sound financial thinking. If every sector of society used the same approach, then we’d go a long way to tackling the profound challenges we face as we try to balance commerce with the need to preserve our precious planet.

For more information on our approaches to EVs, hybrids and the decarbonisation agenda, please contact the Truckcraft Bodies sales team on 0161 304 9404. Alternatively, email glen.pinder@truckcraftbodies.co.uk or emma.jane@truckcraftbodies.co.uk.

Published: Feb 10