Vegetable oil will be used to power Islington Council’s new recycling and refuse vehicles, making the borough’s collection service more environmentally-friendly than ever.
To help mark Recycle Now Week, four 26-tonne trucks, boasting revolutionary fuel technology, were introduced to the council’s fleet last week.
The trucks run on used vegetable oil – a waste product collected from the borough and surrounding areas – which is converted into fuel to achieve carbon reductions of up to 91 per cent.
Cllr Greg Foxsmith, Executive Member for the Environment, said: “Islington Council has long been at the forefront of sustainable transport but this will take us to the next level.
“The environmental benefits of our new recycling and refuse vehicles add to the huge inroads we are already making in the fight against climate change.
“It’s just another example of the council’s commitment to this important cause.”
The vehicles’ three-compartment design, which enables simultaneous collection of waste and recyclables, adds to the new fleet’s environmental benefits.
With separate space for different materials, the trucks are classed as ‘one pass’ vehicles which means the need to return to the same address multiple times is eliminated.
The trucks’ launch was a highlight of Islington’s Recycle Now Week – a nation-wide event aimed at encouraging environmentally-friendly behaviour.
Other celebrations included a reuse fashion show – where Islington Arts and Media School students reinvented and modelled unwanted clothes – and another successful Give or Take Day at which 1.6 tonnes of goods were swapped.
Page Last Updated: 30 June 2009