Sheffield Is My Planet welcomes Veolia zero emission vehicle trial

20/05/2010

Veolia Environmental Services, the people responsible for Sheffield’s waste management, have taken delivery of an electric vehicle to trial over the next 2 weeks. The Peugeot Expert van is powered entirely by leading edge Lithium-Ion batteries, so no carbon, particulates, or other pollutants are produced when the vehicle is operating. The trial is welcomed by Sheffield is My Planet, the city council’s climate change initiative which is actively working to help reduce the city’s carbon footprint.
 
Capable of a top speed of 70mph and equipped with a battery that lasts 100 miles or 5 hours, the van will be put through its paces by the Veolia Environmental Services team, including Waste Awareness Officer, Kate Townrow, as she travels across the city. Kate drives an average of 30-35 miles per week and around 1,500 miles per year. In her current vehicle, this translates to over 325 kilograms of CO2 emissions every year*, which would be completely cut by switching to an electric vehicle.
 
One of Kate’s responsibilities as a Waste Awareness Officer is delivering a large number of outreach sessions in schools and colleges throughout Sheffield in order to make sure that the city’s younger residents are aware of the impacts that their actions can have on the environment. By using a zero emission vehicle, Veolia will be reducing its carbon footprint and leading by example.
 
Phil Gilmour, Regional Director (Northern) for Veolia Environmental Services commented: "Veolia Environmental Services is constantly exploring and trialing the use of new technologies, and the latest of these trials is an electric van.  The van will be fuelled by electricity generated by our Energy Recovery Facility and contribute to our objective of reducing our carbon footprint and operating alternative technologies.  We all have an obligation to the environment and Veolia as an environmental company will look at every opportunity to realise improvements for the generations to come."
 
Later this year, Sheffield City Council will be placing a bid to the Government’s Office of Low Emission Vehicles for funding of electric vehicle charging points. This funding project is called "Plugged in Places" and will focus on making electric vehicles a viable option for everyone. More information about the project can be found at www.sheffieldismyplanet.co.uk.