Witney News - Council scoops top green award

Council scoops top green award

Having cut its vehicle CO2 emissions by 17 per cent, West Oxfordshire District Council has received the Energy Saving Trust’s Best Public Sector Fleet award.
The annual award seeks to recognise public, private and not-for-profit organisations that have employed transport policies to reduce their fleet’s carbon footprint and make its operation more efficient.

West Oxfordshire District Council carried out a green fleet review last year that looked at more efficient ways to work for its grounds, cleansing and commercial waste teams in addition to reviewing the business mileage of its employees.
This included re-zoning both the commercial refuse and recycling rounds, which also led to the introduction of a commercial food waste service diverting 29 tonnes of food waste from landfill.

Beside this the council have developed a strong partnership with their waste contractor to implement revised recycling rounds, aided by the introduction of recycling vehicles, which are more than three times fuel efficient than their predecessors.

They have also been designed to allow greater capacity of recycling materials, including additional compacting units, resulting in an extended collection round with fewer trips back to the disposal depot.

Cllr David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “This is a truly significant achievement and reflects the council’s long term commitment to reducing CO2 emissions and costs. The team worked very hard looking at different initiatives that would not only reduce our carbon footprint but also help us work more efficiently.”

Ian Featherstone, Fleet Advice Manager with Energy Saving Trust, said: “West Oxfordshire’s fleet showed an impressive 17 per cent improvement in CO2 emissions. The Council used all the tools available and made some significant changes which impressed the judges, particularly as this is a small District Council.”