Pendle Borough Council has opted to run six of its bin lorries on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as part of its plans to become carbon neutral by 2030.
The Lancashire-based authority cited HVO’s ability to cut CO2 emissions by 90% compared to conventional diesel.
Pendle’s climate programme manager, Victor Equere, says switching to HVO was a cheaper alternative to replacing the vehicles, while adding that the switch to HVO represented “a significant step towards decarbonising our fleet and operations”.
The official adds that “in celebrating this milestone” the authority had created advertising banners to adorn the trucks, encouraging residents to reduce their emissions by taking shorter showers, turning down their home thermostats, washing their clothes in colder water, and using LED bulbs.
A briefing document previously referenced by the council highlighted HVO costs between 10 and 15% more than mineral diesel, and that as vehicles are only “marginally” more efficient when running on HVO, the benefits of the fuel are “entirely emissions-based”.
Pendle Borough Council represents over 97,000 residents and is facing a shortfall of approximately £1m for the 2025/36 financial year. Around 29% of the authority’s budget is spend on environmental services such as bin collections.
Local reaction to the switch has been mixed, with one comment on a social media post from the council criticising the trucks’ new advertising liveries as “frivolous spending”.
