Council aspires to 100% electric fleet

Hambleton District Council is introducing new electric vehicles to replace its conventional fuel vans, with a view to moving to a 100% electric fleet in the future.

The two brand-new Nissan eNV200 vehicles were delivered in September and will be carrying out a range of services including the enforcement of fly tipping, waste management and street cleansing. They were supplied by the council’s vehicle partner, contract hire and fleet management company, Specialist Fleet Services Ltd (SFS), as part of a 10-year contract signed in 2016 to supply and maintain the council’s waste, recycling and street cleansing fleet.

Stephen Watson, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Health, Waste and Recycling, said: “Technology has improved significantly in recent years, enabling us to enter into an agreement that can provide us with electric vehicles with a vision of running a 100% electric fleet in the future.

“If we want to encourage residents to be more mindful of the effects their own vehicles have on our local environment, then it’s right that we look at our own fleet and do something about it.

“We would hope that other organisations and individuals would think about how they too can contribute to the transition from fossil fuels to alternative forms of transport. We should all recognise the importance of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and minimising climate change.

“These vehicles give us the opportunity to show how we can tackle emissions from the mileage our staff need to do to provide services across the district and I look forward to watching how this progress.”

$20m funding to lead the global fight against food waste

Winnow, the technology company behind Winnow Vision, the artificial intelligence tool helping chefs cut food waste in half, is announcing the completion of its series B round of funding at a total of $12m.

This follows a recent $8m loan from The European Investment Bank (EIB), with the help of the Juncker Plan, which focuses on boosting investment to generate jobs and growth.

The series B round included high-profile investment from Ingka Group, a strategic partner to the IKEA franchisee system, Mustard Seed, Circularity Capital, D-Ax and The Ingenious Group.

Winnow co-founder and CEO Marc Zornes said, “We are very excited about driving the business forward in our global fight against food waste and we are grateful for the continuous support of our investors. This year, we launched our ground-breaking AI product Winnow Vision, and chefs using Winnow around the world are saving $33m worth of food from going to waste annually.

“We have set a target to save our customers $1bn of food waste by 2025, and this investment will accelerate our technology development and business development approach to help achieve this ambition.”

Midlands waste management firm invest £1.5m in transfer facility

A Midlands based waste management and recycling firm has announced a £1.5 Million investment into a new waste transfer facility.

Chloros Environmental, specialists in the management, recycling and transfer of both hazardous and non-hazardous materials, have commenced works on its new waste transfer facility – a 43,000 sq ft warehouse located in Hartlebury, Worcestershire – with a completion date set for November 2019.

Having received the official environmental permit in August 2019, the newly commissioned site will hold administrative offices, a specialist lab with full laboratory analyst equipment and other high-tech facilities, including DSEAR compliant indoor reception, inspection and storage areas for all waste, to ensure Chloros surpasses all required regulatory standards, in accordance with Best Available Techniques [BAT].

Richard Hurdle, Director of Chloros Environmental, confirmed: “We are delighted to have been issued the official environmental permit and to have clearance to go ahead with the development of the new Hartlebury site. Within a matter of months, this will form a vital part of the local and national infrastructure, ensuring that we can deliver the very best service to our customers for years to come.”