First electric refuse vehicle for Chichester District - and the county - will help cut council emissions

The first ever electric refuse vehicle for Chichester District will soon be doing the rounds.

The 26-tonne vehicle was delivered to the Chichester District Council's depot at the end of February and will form part of the council's commitment to reducing its carbon emissions.

"We're very excited as this is the first electric refuse vehicle to start operating in West Sussex and is one of two that we have ordered," says Kevin Carter, Divisional Manager at Chichester District Council . ", Our refuse collection fleet is one of our biggest sources of emissions, and as part of our Climate Change Action Plan we agreed that one of our key tasks would be to start the switch from diesel refuse collection vehicles to electric.

"The typical diesel refuse collection vehicle achieves around three to four miles to the gallon, and while an electric refuse vehicle costs almost twice that of a diesel version, we expect that the total costs over the lifetime of the electric vehicles to be similar to diesel, due to their lower running costs.

The new vehicle looks the same as conventional refuse vehicles - the only difference that residents and businesses will notice is that it is much quieter. They will be operated across different rounds in the district so that the council gains as much experience as possible.

It is expected that the market for this type of electric vehicle will become more established within the next three years, which is when we will consider switching more of its refuse fleet to electric.

Kevin adds: "This work is all part of the council's wider Climate Emergency Action Plan, which sets out how the council will reduce carbon emissions within its own operations and help local residents, businesses and organisations to reduce their carbon footprint too".