We are proud to announce that Westminster City Council, in partnership with Veolia, have won the Public Sector Commercial Fleet of the Year Award at the 2021 GREENFLEET Awards.
The ceremony, held on 1st December 2021 at the British Motor Museum in Warwick, formally recognised Westminster City Council for our new electrified waste collection vehicles.
Awarded for our push towards zero carbon emissions
Westminster City Council and our partner Veolia have won the Public Sector Commercial Fleet of the Year Award in recognition of our environmentally friendly waste collection and street cleansing fleet.
Our new fleet of 60 electric vehicles includes e-trikes for litter picking, electric refuse collection vehicles (e-RCVs) and e-sweepers. By next year our entire collection operation will be completely electrified. The all-electric fleet and charging facilities will ensure that Westminster’s streets are kept clean whilst noise and pollution levels are kept to a minimum.
Swapping from diesel trucks to an electric vehicles will save the equivalent of 1300 cars off the road each year and save 40,000 tonnes of carbon over the life of the project. This will lead to an 89% reduction of CO2e emissions compared to a diesel fleet, in line with Westminster City Council’s plans to be carbon net zero by 2030. It also reduces the emissions of NOx and particulate matter, which are the main contributors to poor air quality in London.
In partnership with Veolia, we generate the electricity needed to power our fleet by using the general (non-recyclable) waste we collect in Westminster every day. This closed-loop solution is possible through the energy-from-waste incineration process that converts Westminster’s general waste into electricity which is used directly to charge the trucks. Our private connection solution also avoids competing for precious distribution capacity on London’s congested electricity grid, which could displace other (renewable) electricity off the grid.
We are thrilled that the GREENFLEET Awards have recognised our achievements as we work towards our carbon net zero goals.
Westminster City Council’s previous awards
We are also extremely proud of our previous recognitions, including the Circular Economy Success category at the Awards for Excellence, for our work upcycling end-of-life diesel trucks to some of our new electric collection trucks.
Last year, Westminster City Council was also awarded the Future Fleet Award at the LAPV Future Fleet Awards 2020. We are overjoyed to be formally recognised as the most sustainable waste management fleet in the country and will continue finding new ways to reduce vehicle emissions throughout Westminster.
Moving towards zero carbon emissions
Westminster City Council continues to push for zero carbon emissions by 2030 with its new fleet of waste collection and street cleansing vehicles. These vehicles are run entirely on the energy generated from the non-recyclable general waste they collect.
We are excited to help you and your business reduce your carbon emissions. Working with us to collect your commercial waste will lead not only to savings for your business, but also to significant emissions reduction in Westminster.
Want to learn more about how to reduce carbon emissions? Download our Congestion and Air Quality leaflet.
