Blaby District Council has slashed its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in the last year. Next year’s results, for 2023/24, are forecast to be even greater, with an estimated 80% or more reduction on the baseline year of 2018/19.

The impressive reduction is largely due to switching all bin lorries to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). HVO is a greener form of diesel, derived from waste oils, offering around 90% reduction in carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels. All the Council’s bin lorries use HVO after it was first introduced last autumn. 

The 30% reduction has seen CO2 levels drop from 692 tonnes in 2021/22 down to 488 tonnes in 2022/23, showing the partial year impact of HVO. While figures can only be estimated it is expected the reduction will drop to around 140 tonnes CO2 in 2023/24. This is due to 2023/24 being the first full year of reporting the impact of HVO. Fleet operations account for some 73% of all the Council’s carbon emissions. 

At the Full Council meeting in September, Councillors agreed plans to invest more than £1 million on green technology at the Whetstone depot. This includes 318 solar panels for the rooftops of the three depot buildings, the offices, workshop and storage area, as well as installing more than 50 EV charging points. The estimated payback on the investment is reported to be between seven and eight years.