Environmentally-friendly fuel trial underway in Wealden

A trial to run waste collection lorries on environmentally-friendly fuel has been underway across Wealden.

Thirteen lorries, trucks and other vehicles operating out of the Bellbrook Depot in Uckfield have been running on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil – as opposed to diesel - as part of the trial.

That includes lorries collecting waste and recycling from homes in Wealden.

The pilot is a collaboration between the East Sussex Waste Partnership, Biffa Municipal Ltd – the contractor responsible for waste and recycling collections – and Green Biofuels – GBF.

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil – HVO - is stable, renewable, sustainable and high-quality and offers better combustion and filterability. The fuel is created by collecting cooking oil waste and putting it through a hydrotreatment process before reusing it in conventional diesel vehicles, rather than disposing of it in landfill or as hazardous waste. It significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and is cheaper.

Councillor Ray Cade, the lead member for waste management at Wealden District Council, which has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner, said, “This is very exciting and hopefully is just the start of moving towards sustainable methods.

“It is all part of our council’s commitment to using renewable and sustainable energy in the future and I am interested to see how our refuse vehicles progress through this trial.”