A NORTH-EAST recycling and sustainability firm has updated the company’s fleet with four new vehicles that run on biofuel.

Newton Aycliffe-based Warrens Group, which is committed to converting all of its distribution operations to fossil-free sources by 2025, has taken delivery of trucks that rely on biomethane gas and generate 84 per cent less carbon dioxide than diesel.

The vehicles make Warrens the first food waste recycling company in the UK to power its HGV waste collection vehicles with biogas converted directly from its own food waste customers.

Warrens Group director Antony Warren, said: “As a company, we pride ourselves on our forward-thinking.

“We’ve always been early adopters of the latest technology and methods. We took delivery of our first bio-fuelled vehicle in September last year and had always planned to add more.”

The new biomethane powered trucks will be in operation six days a week, with refuelling carried out on site at the Newton Aycliffe facility.

They will collect food waste from existing customers including pubs, restaurants, schools and supermarkets across the North-East.

Adam Warren, director of Warrens Group, said: “We firmly believe that a sustainable business is a better business. Sustainability is something we advocate to all organisations and communities, as we support their efforts to address the environmental issues caused by traditional methods of waste disposal. By powering our own fleet on the biogas it collects, we are demonstrating that when it comes to sustainability, we really do practice what we preach.

“We believe that if big business and industry fuelled HGVs on gas made from renewable sources, carbon emissions would be almost eliminated. This development is timely because the adverse effects of poor air quality on human health and climate change are two of the most pressing environmental issues we face today.”

Gas industry expert and managing director of CNG Services, John Baldwin, said: “The HGVs on the UK roads have a disproportionate environmental impact; whilst they represent only five per cent of road vehicles, they consume around 25 per cent of road diesel and are responsible for around 27 per cent of roadside NOx and 18 per cent of transport-related CO2 emissions.

“The acquisition of trucks that are powered by the biomethane gas they help to generate means CO2 emissions are reduced by almost 100 per cent – which could very possibly give Warrens Group the lowest carbon footprint for collection of food waste on the planet.”