17. Upcycling Refuse Trucks, 2 August 2023

 

The things I do for the Water Conservators’ Livery Company!  This was interesting and inspiring.  This was also outside my normal water and environmental management areas of engagement, and ticked boxes on waste energy/climate change.

I was invited by members of the Worshipful Company of Carmen and the Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality to visit Silverstone to see a recycling factory.  Except that here what they were reusing and upcycling were refuse trucks.  They were stripping out the diesel engines, fuel tanks, hydraulics etc from used trucks and fitting an electric powertrain, batteries and state of the art monitoring and control systems.  The restoration and conversion captured over 80% of the embedded carbon and delivered a vehicle as new.  Up to 6 x 500kg replaceable, recyclable batteries and regenerative braking gave a range and lifting capacity way in excess of normal requirements.

The company were strongly challenged by representatives of local authorities, waste companies, consultants, academics and energy suppliers.  They made a robust case: the equivalent of a new electric vehicle for significantly less that the cost of a new diesel vehicle.  The only issue appeared to be once again the national availability of charging points, although Biffa, a major customer, were confident that they would have sufficient capacity through national grid connections and additional battery storage capacity.  I also had an encouraging discussion with Gridserve on the challenges of developing sustainable energy infrastructure.

I was very interested to hear the interests and activities of the Carmen in air quality, energy, fuels and vehicles, and planning and infrastructure.  They are also well connected with MPs and Peers on policy matters.  This is a long way from a fraternity to ‘clense, purge and keep clene all the Stretes of … Donge’ and to carry ‘fewell … wynne, oyle, woads … within the said Citie and Suburbes’.