Wiltshire Council has invested in an electric refuse vehicle, which will be trialled by its waste collection contractor, Hills Waste Solutions Ltd.

The Volvo FE Low Entry Cab RCV will be trialled at operating depots and assigned to household waste collection rounds, initially starting in largely urban rounds in the northern areas of the county including Calne and Chippenham. It will later be trialled in the city of Salisbury. The trial will later look to assess the vehicle's performance in semi-urban, semi-rural, and finally the mainly rural rounds.

Martin Litherland, head of service for waste management at Wiltshire Council said: "We have invested in this 100 per cent electric refuse collection vehicle to support our mission to reduce carbon emissions. The vehicle will be trialled around the county by our waste collection contractor, Hills, to help us understand the role that electric vehicles can play in delivering household waste collection services in Wiltshire.”

Cllr Dominic Muns, cabinet member for waste and environment, said: "This is an exciting collaboration with Volvo Trucks, which has a wealth of experience in the electric vehicle market. The 100% electric RCV contributes to cleaner air as it does not produce exhaust gas. This trial brings us a step closer to achieving our mission to modernise the council's waste collection fleet to low carbon vehicles and ultimately to reduce carbon emissions.

"This trial will establish what percentage of collection routes could realistically be achieved with an electric vehicle, fully testing the capabilities of eRCVs in Wiltshire.  It will play a significant role in determining the future procurement of waste collection vehicles and how they can potentially be utilised across the county.

"We can't wait to see it on the road soon throughout our communities across the county."

To further improve the sustainability of the vehicle, it has been adapted to include TRAILAR solar panels on the roof supporting the power requirements of the cab.