WASTE MANAGEMENT company Biffa has taken a landmark step towards cleaning up its fleet of refuse collection lorries.
It has partnered with vehicle electrification and upcycling specialist Lunaz, based at Silverstone, to give its trucks a new lease of life by replacing their diesel engines with electric power.
The two businesses have signed an agreement under which Lunaz will convert the entire Biffa fleet of currently diesel-powered trucks to clean-air electric powertrains over the next ten years.
After successful completion of technical trials and due diligence, first deliveries are due to take place later this year for operations on UK refuse collection routes. Biffa’s Upcycled Electric Vehicle refuse trucks will operate on both commercial and municipal waste collection routes.
This multi-year production programme is expected to see growing numbers of vehicles delivered to Biffa over the mid-term, with an initial order of up to ten 26-tonne UEVs saving up to 210 tonnes in embedded carbon.
Maxine Mayhew, chief operating officer collection and specialist services at Biffa, said: “As the UK’s leading sustainable waste management company we are committed to enabling the circular economy while reducing emissions and carbon expenditure in every aspect of our business. By working with Lunaz to meet our goal of buying no more fossil fuelled vehicles by 2030 while breaking the replace-with-new cycle, we pioneer an approach in this industry that saves millions of tonnes in embedded carbon.”
Maxine Wheeler of Biffa is pictured with Lunaz’s chief executive and founder David Lorenz.
The electrification and upcycling work on Biffa vehicles will take place at Lunaz’s state-of-the art upcycling and electrification campus on the Silverstone Technology Park. This will support more than 300 highly skilled jobs by 2025 and has capacity to upcycle more than 1,110 industrial vehicles every year. Lunaz has already committed to expanding its UK up cycling and electrification to meet surging demand for electrified vehicles in the run-up to the 2030 ban on the sale of fossil fuelled vehicles.
For local authorities across the UK, the procurement of UEVs represents a significant saving for the taxpayer, with more than £1 million in public money saved for every 20 vehicles upcycled and electrified compared to buying new EV equivalents.
“We have built Lunaz to answer the critical requirement to transition global industrial vehicle fleets to clean-air powertrains while reversing the ecologically damaging cycle of replacing-with-new,” said Lunaz’s founder and chief executive David Lorenz. “In taking a leadership position, Biffa presents commercial and municipal clients with a solution that is better for the planet, for stakeholders and the taxpayer. This solution represents sustainability without functional and financial penalty and the ultimate win-win for operators and local authorities.”
The agreement is a key part of Biffa’s sustainability commitments, which the company wants to have achieved by 2030. These include reducing emissions by a further 50 per cent – the company has already cut emissions by 70pc since 2002 – to cease the purchase of fossil fuel-powered vehicles as soon as practical and to build a circular economy.
Ms Mayhew said: “I am proud that every electric vehicle upcycled by Lunaz for Biffa’s fleet will mean one less tailpipe emission emitting vehicle for our planet. This long-term partnership with Lunaz is a major pillar in our collective effort to achieve our 2030 commitments.”
Mr Lorenz added: “Biffa has led from the front in pioneering more sustainable waste management practices here in the UK. By embracing the power of upcycling as a dramatically more sustainable course to the transition to a clean air fleet, Biffa delivers economic value to its stakeholders while delivering a great ecological dividend to the planet.”