Scottish council switches bin lorries to HVO

Perth and Kinross Council decided in 2024 to test the potential of a cleaner alternative to standard diesel - Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO).
As a result of the six-month trial with six refuse collection lorries moved over to HVO, the council noted a significant reduction in carbon emissions – namely saving 87 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The success of the trial has led to a further 18 bin lorries based at the Council’s Friarton Depot being swapped to the more environmentally friendly fuel, starting from early February.
The council’s fleet manager, Pat Taggart explained: “The aim for us is to eventually have all our operational depots with bin vehicles running on HVO, as part of our wider decarbonisation strategy.
“Our experience to date has been a very positive one not only in the reduction of carbon emissions from our fleet but also in the practicalities of changing over to HVO – we have not seen any adverse effects on our vehicles such as ad-hoc engine repairs, and the process of running down our diesel supply and moving to the new fuel has been straightforward.
“I’m really pleased that we can do our part to support the circular economy by using waste materials and run our fleet on a certified clean fuel.”
Darren Holloway, commercial director for energy solutions at Certas Energy, said: “We are thrilled to be fuelling the transition to net zero for Perth and Kinross Council, who are one of a growing number of public sector organisations switching to HVO.
“Demand for HVO is growing year-on-year across the UK as more organisations are understanding the sustainability benefits of switching to this fuel. We anticipate this trend to continue for the next decade, and the public sector will be a key driver for this.”