Waste management firm launches electric vehicle in Bristol

A waste management firm has begun the eco-friendly conversion of its Bristol fleet with the launch of a £300k electric collection vehicle.

Grundon‘s new lorry, a converted Dennis Eagle Mercedes-Benz Econic waste collection vehicle, has hit the city’s streets.

It has been switched from diesel power to electric in partnership with Gloucestershire-based Refuse Vehicle Solutions (RVS) and Dutch conversion specialists EMOSS.

Grundon, which set up a new depot in Bristol just two years ago, now plans to convert more of its city fleet to eco-friendly fuel over the coming months.

The programme will see another 15 vehicles, including waste lorries and skip vehicles, run on a mixture of electric, hydrogen and technologies which are a hybrid of the two.

The launch of the new vehicle makes Bristol the flagship for Grundon’s decarbonisation of its vehicle fleet, which is part of an ongoing annual £5m investment programme of vehicle conversions and purchases.

Neil Grundon, chairman of Grundon, said: “We’ve chosen Bristol to launch this vehicle as we know the city is at the forefront of wanting to operate more sustainably. We want to play our part in helping the city and its business community to reach those goals.

“We see this innovation as a real game-changer and an important milestone on our journey towards further helping our customers achieve their sustainability targets.”

Grundon has launched an electric waste management lorry in Bristol – photo: Grundon

With a 280kW battery charged from the National Grid, the electric vehicle will have a range of between 80 and 100km and is expected to collect five tonnes of waste daily.

This will in turn generate around 3,100kW of electricity at the Viridor Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Avonmouth.

A second electric waste collection vehicle at Grundon’s Colnbrook depot near Slough is now serving customers across London and the Thames Valley.

A third electric collection vehicle is shortly due to start collections in Reading and Newbury from Grundon’s base in Beenham, Berkshire.

The waste management firm plans to convert more of its city fleet to eco-friendly fuel – photo: Grundon

Grundon Director Bradley Smith added: “The success of our trials gave us 100 per cent confidence that the new electric vehicles have the capacity to complete daily waste collections without the need to recharge en route.

“Our plan is to purchase further electric vehicles, as well as investing heavily in alternative fuels and looking at further hybrid options.

“Potentially, this may include hybrid electric and hydrogen vehicles and we are very excited by the new technology that is coming along. In particular, battery performance is increasing all the time and the further batteries are capable of travelling, the more opportunity there is to invest in this technology.”

Originally founded in 1929, Grundon became the first of the major waste industry players to adopt CarbonNeutral® certification across its vehicle fleet in 2014.

Since 2000, Grundon has reduced its carbon emissions by 80 per cent through a series of measures, including an ongoing energy self-sufficiency programme and investment in technology.

Main photo: Grundon

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