South and Vale District Councils - New Electric Waste Vehicle

New electric waste vehicle will save councils 13 tonnes of carbon emissions per year

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils have taken delivery of their second electric waste collection and street cleansing vehicle - which produces 70 per cent fewer carbon emissions than its diesel predecessor – part of the councils’ ambitions to reduce their carbon emissions and move towards net zero.

The new vehicle, an IVECO eDaily caged tipper, was delivered to the councils at the Culham depot of their waste contractor, Biffa, earlier this month. It is being used throughout both districts by crews as part of their work on street cleansing, emptying litter bins, picking up waste collected on litter picks and clearing rubbish left as fly tips.

It replaces a diesel tipper truck which covered approximately 33,000 miles per year. By changing to an electric tipper waste vehicle, the councils expect to save more than 13 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, with this one vehicle alone. This is a 70 per cent reduction on the previous diesel truck.

As well as having the tipper function the new vehicle has a tools compartment making it easier for crews to keep street cleansing gear easy to access and separate from the waste itself. The vehicle like most EVs, is also quieter than diesel and petrol vehicles.

Cllr Sue Cooper, South Oxfordshire District Council cabinet member for environment, said: “Making the switch to electric vehicles is not easy due to the size of our districts and the challenges of the lengthy rural waste collection routes, the trucks must complete. However, this electric vehicle continues the progress towards our net zero goals, which will be good for our residents and for the environment.”

Cllr Dr Robert Clegg, Vale of White Horse District Council cabinet member for Environmental Services, Climate Action and Nature Recovery, said: “It’s such good news to get another electric vehicle in our waste collection and street cleansing fleet, alongside the electric food waste truck which has been in service for the last 18 months covering thousands of miles across the districts. Compared with the diesel equivalent, our EV food waste truck has been saving carbon emissions with every mile.”

The councils’ electric food waste truck has been in service since November 2024. At the same time the councils also replaced two smaller diesel vans used by the parks team and public toilet maintenance teams with two electric equivalents.