A South West waste management firm has begun the eco-friendly conversion of its Bristol fleet.
Grundon will launch a £300k electric collection vehicle at its Bristol site this week. The electric lorry is a converted Dennis Eagle Mercedes-Benz Econic waste collection vehicle, switched from diesel power to electric in partnership with Gloucestershire-based Refuse Vehicle Solutions (RVS) and Dutch conversion specialists EMOSS.
Grundon, which set up a new depot in Bristol two years ago, has announced plans to convert more of its city fleet to eco-friendly fuel over the coming months.
The programme will see a further 15 vehicles, including waste lorries and skip vehicles, run on a mixture of electric, hydrogen and technologies which are a hybrid of the two.
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The launch of the new vehicle makes Bristol the flagship for Grundon’s decarbonisation of its vehicle fleet, which is part of an ongoing annual £5m investment programme of vehicle conversions and purchases.
Neil Grundon, chairman of Grundon, said: “We’ve chosen Bristol to launch this vehicle as we know the city is at the forefront of wanting to operate more sustainably. We want to play our part in helping the city and its business community to reach those goals.
“We see this innovation as a real game-changer and an important milestone on our journey towards further helping our customers achieve their sustainability targets.”
The launch in Bristol follows on from the implementation of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which came into force in November last year. The CAZ was set up in the city centre in a bid to further improve air quality, cut carbon emissions and move towards zero emission travel.
Spencer Law, managing director at RVS said: “Modifying a diesel refuse vehicle not only saves in excess of £100,000 versus the purchase of a new electric vehicle, but it also gives it a new lease of life – literally recycling on the go.
“We already had a long-standing relationship with Grundon and, when they started looking at the electrification route, we were proud to be chosen as their preferred supplier. As two family-owned businesses working together, we have absolute confidence and trust in each others’ abilities, and we are very much looking forward to seeing these new vehicles out on the road.”
With a 280kW battery charged from the National Grid, the electric vehicle will have a range of between 80 and 100km and is expected to collect five tonnes of waste daily. This will in turn generate around 3,100kW of electricity at the Viridor Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Avonmouth.
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