The fleet roll-out begins in the Manchester area, collecting household and municipal waste. According to Biffa, the electric refuse vehicles help to reduce air pollution and improve the environment, are quieter but just as powerful and cost-efficient to run as diesel vehicles, and are designed for urban environments and can complete a full shift on one charge.
The company has pledged to cease buying fossil-fuelled vehicles by 2030.
Using Biffa’s electric fleet will allow the Council to make significant progress against its zero-carbon action plan that aims to halve its direct emissions by 2025, as part of a wider drive to make Manchester carbon free by 2038. It invested £10 million in the fleet.
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, executive member for neighbourhoods, said: “We’re proud that Manchester City Council, working with Biffa, has made the most significant investment of any council in emission-free refuse collection vehicles and that the waste and recycling service is playing its part in binning pollution.”
