Kingston Council Focuses On Climate Action

The council has collaborated with Veolia to roll out 27 new electric collection vehicles

Veolia, a leading ESG company, in partnership with Kingston Council is rolling out 27 new electric collection vehicles to provide a cleaner, greener, and quieter service for residents. Commencing this month, the new vehicles will replace current diesel models, with a reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM) emissions, which all contribute to poor air quality.

With dedicated collection vehicles for each waste stream, the new fleet will also help expand the food waste service, bolstering recycling rates and driving ecological transformation across the London borough. The new trucks will be dedicated to single material collections as opposed to their current diesel counterparts that are split to allow for simultaneous food waste and mixed recycling collections. This can lead to contamination so the new vehicles will help improve the quality of recycling and therefore, Kingston’s recycling rate. The initiative also reduces the number of trips each vehicle has to take to the tip, saving energy.

Scott Edgell, General Manager for Veolia South London said, “We are excited to see our partnership with Kingston Council result in a better service for residents, along with reduced air and noise pollution thanks to the introduction of our new electric fleet of recycling and waste collection vehicles. By constantly innovating our resources and services we can drive ecological transformation across the borough and support our partner on their net zero carbon journey.”

Councillor Noel Hadjimichael, Kingston Council’s Portfolio Holder for Assets, Commissioning and Waste commented, “This is a huge milestone for climate action in Kingston. We are committed to finding sustainable solutions to tackle climate change and introducing a fully electric waste collection fleet demonstrates that. We are proud to be one of the first authorities nationally to make such a move. By introducing an electric waste fleet, we will help improve the borough’s air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly, bringing us closer to achieving net zero by 2030.”