Streets in the London borough of Lambeth are about to get greener, as Veolia introduces zero emission electric street sweeping vehicles - its first in London and the UK.
The five new electric sweepers have been purchased instead of diesel alternatives and between them will save 78 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the environment each year. That’s the equivalent of 33 passenger cars being removed from the road.*
A successful trial of the sweepers in Lambeth confirmed the electric vehicles maintained the same work performance as diesel, while eliminating emissions to zero and bringing additional benefits such as reduced maintenance, lower noise output and a 70% reduction of water use.
Veolia has been trialling alternative fuel solutions for its vehicles since 2012 and is now ideally placed to support its customers as London moves towards the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) targets being introduced in 2019.
Pascal Hauret, Regional Director for Veolia London said: “As one of London's largest fleet operators, low emission vehicle technologies are in our sights. Veolia’s fleet innovation team are actively involved in trials of new street cleansing and refuse collection vehicles, and our vehicles of choice for the next generation of street cleansing machinery will be those with zero emissions. It’s fantastic to see Lambeth Council’s dedication to improving air quality and we are delighted to have been able to bring electric mechanical broom sweepers to the borough.”
Cllr Claire Holland, Cabinet Member for Environment and Clean Air said: “The new electrical vehicles are another step to make our services as environmentally friendly as possible. They are a welcome addition to other initiatives we have to improve air quality in the borough, such as discouraging idling and supporting residents to increase greenery on their streets as part of our innovative Freshview scheme.”
*Data calculations from UK Government Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (carbon affairs): https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting