Wychavon’s waste and recycling collection service operated by FCC Environment UK, subsidiary of FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente in the United Kingdom, has added eight vehicles powered by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to its fleet, which considerably reduces the service's carbon emissions.

This is part of a process in which Wychavon, in partnership with FCC Environment, will invest £270,000 (around €315,560) to ensure that all city service vehicles are powered by HVO. These vehicles emit 90% less CO₂ than diesel vehicles and their implementation constitutes an intermediate stage in the transition towards electric mobility.

Decarbonising waste and recycling collections is one of the key actions in Wychavon’s Intelligently Green Plan to help meet the Council’s target to cut its own carbon emissions by 75% by 2030.

Cllr Beverley Hardman, Executive Board Member for Boosting Natural Capital, which includes tackling climate change, on Wychavon District Council said: “It’s fantastic news that through the use of HVO we have started to cut the carbon emissions of our waste and recycling collections and I look forward to us being able to reduce these emissions further when the rest of the fleet moves on to the alternative fuel.”

FCC Environment UK has been present in the United Kingdom since 1989 where it serves nearly 19 million people and carries out activities such as waste collection, recycling, treatment and energy recovery, street cleansing, parks and ground maintenance and facility management, among others.