Grundon chooses Bristol as its flagship launch for electric recycling fleet

Waste management firm Grundon has begun the eco-friendly conversion of its Bristol fleet with the launch of a £300k electric collection vehicle.

After a period of testing to assess the battery power needed for necessary vehicle range and daily mechanical operations, the new lorry will hit the city’s streets this week.

The electric lorry is a converted Dennis Eagle Mercedes-Benz Econic waste collection vehicle, switched from diesel power to electric in partnership with Gloucestershire-based Refuse Vehicle Solutions (RVS) and Dutch conversion specialists EMOSS.

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Grundon, which set up a new depot in Bristol just two years ago, now plans to convert more of its city fleet to eco-friendly fuel over the coming months.

The programme will see another 15 vehicles, including waste lorries and skip vehicles, run on a mixture of electric, hydrogen and technologies which are a hybrid of the two.

And the launch of the new vehicle makes Bristol the flagship for Grundon’s decarbonisation of its vehicle fleet, which is part of an ongoing annual £5m investment programme of vehicle conversions and purchases. In the meantime, the new electric collection vehicle will give the company’s business customers around the city region the knowledge that they are cutting their own carbon footprint, while contributing to improved air quality in the city.

Neil Grundon, chairman of Grundon, said: “We’ve chosen Bristol to launch this vehicle as we know the city is at the forefront of wanting to operate more sustainably. We want to play our part in helping the city and its business community to reach those goals.

“We see this innovation as a real game-changer and an important milestone on our journey towards further helping our customers achieve their sustainability targets.”

The launch in Bristol follows on from the implementation of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which came into force in November last year. The CAZ was set up in the city centre in a bid to further improve air quality, cut carbon emissions and move towards zero emission travel.

With Grundon’s other vehicles in Bristol already of Euro 6 standard, the entire fleet is fully compliant with the zone and exempt from charges.

Spencer Law is the managing director at RVS, which is based in Dursley, Gloucestershire. He said the move to electric makes both financial and environmental sense: “Modifying a diesel refuse vehicle not only saves in excess of £100,000 versus the purchase of a new electric vehicle, but it also gives it a new lease of life – literally recycling on the go.

“We already had a long-standing relationship with Grundon and, when they started looking at the electrification route, we were proud to be chosen as their preferred supplier. As two family-owned businesses working together, we have absolute confidence and trust in each others’ abilities, and we are very much looking forward to seeing these new vehicles out on the road.”

With a 280kW battery charged from the National Grid, the electric vehicle will have a range of between 80 and 100km and is expected to collect five tonnes of waste daily. This will in turn generate around 3,100kW of electricity at the Viridor Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Avonmouth. The average yearly electricity consumption for the typical British home is 2,900kW.

A second electric waste collection vehicle at Grundon’s Colnbrook depot near Slough is now serving customers across London and the Thames Valley. The waste this vehicle collects every day goes to Grundon’s Lakeside Energy from Waste facility, creating more than enough energy to charge the vehicle ready for the next day’s collections.

“We see that as a very powerful message and a tangible demonstration of what can be achieved as we invest further in electrifying our fleet,” added Neil. A third electric collection vehicle is shortly due to start collections in Reading and Newbury from Grundon’s base in Beenham, Berkshire.

Grundon Director Bradley Smith added: “The success of our trials gave us 100 per cent confidence that the new electric vehicles have the capacity to complete daily waste collections without the need to recharge en route.

“Our plan is to purchase further electric vehicles, as well as investing heavily in alternative fuels and looking at further hybrid options.

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“Potentially, this may include hybrid electric and hydrogen vehicles and we are very excited by the new technology that is coming along. In particular, battery performance is increasing all the time and the further batteries are capable of travelling, the more opportunity there is to invest in this technology.”

Originally founded in 1929, in 2014 Grundon became the first of the major waste industry players to adopt CarbonNeutral® certification across its vehicle fleet, offsetting its carbon emissions by supporting a wide range of rural community projects across East Africa and beyond.

Since 2000, Grundon has reduced its carbon emissions by 80 per cent through a series of measures, including an ongoing energy self-sufficiency programme and investment in state-of-the-art technology.