Waste company Veolia lays out costs for switching from diesel to electric trucks in West Berkshire

Bin lorry company Veolia has laid out costs for switching from diesel to electric trucks in West Berkshire.

It says ‘one-pass’ recycling vehicles are only available with diesel drives.

And the total additional cost for purchasing 14 refuse/garden waste collection vehicles would be £3.1m.

In a report to the council's environment advisory group it says additional cost for charging stations could be upwards of £500,000, plus around £250,000 if upgrades to the grid connection are required.

The proposed new eco fleet would also have electric bin lifts included on all large collections vehicles.

Bin lifting equipment is driven by electricity, not vehicle engines, with an eight to ten per cent reduction in fuel consumption and up to 40,000 litres of diesel saved per year.

The translates into roughly 107 tons of Co2 saved per year.

It is also considering the benefits of using hydrogen powered vehicles.