Electric bin lorries could begin serving Somerset residents from 2024.

The Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) is exploring different ways to reducing its carbon footprint, including the fuels used by its recycling and refuse collection vehicles.

Trials are being carried out to replace diesel with vegetable oil and to substitute some of the smaller waste vehicles (i.e. vans) for their electric equivalents.

Now waste bosses have committed to start phasing out the existing diesel-powered bin lorries from 2024 when the older vehicles in the fleet need to be replaced.

Details of the SWP's intentions were published ahead of a joint scrutiny panel meeting held on Wednesday afternoon (June 23).

The SWP has two main suppliers for its waste vehicles – Romaquip for its recycling trucks and Dennis Eagle for its refuse lorries.

SWP managing director Mickey Green said he was "in dialogue" with Romaquip about electric vehicle trials in Somerset, but the focus for now was on replacing or retrofitting its refuse lorries.

He said in his written report: "We want to be well placed to explore alternative fuelled refuse vehicles when we come to a partial refleet in 2024 – our 23 2016-plate refuse vehicles.

"We are exploring the trial of a Dennis Eagle conversion/retrofit of a diesel refuse collection vehicle to electric.

"We will trial one for six weeks in Somerset (predominantly the Bridgwater area) from late-June.

"The plan is to cover each route in Bridgwater during the trial with the aim that, if the vehicle is procured, then it could then be trialled in all districts to establish the number of viable routes that could be electrified by 2024.

"The main purpose of this trial is to ensure that it is operationally viable, so that we fully understand the issues ahead of our partial refleet in 2024. This is likely to cost millions, and hence it is crucial that we know everything we can about electric vehicles ahead of making this major decision."

Dennis Eagle currently charges £180,000 for a diesel refuse vehicle, with a new electrically powered vehicle costing £514,000 and a retrofitted vehicle coming in at £350,000

The SWP predicts that each electric refuse vehicle would reduce its annual CO2 output by more than 300 tonnes, and is seeking to negotiate a discount to its existing contracts if it retrofitted its vehicles in this way.

The Bridgwater trial will conclude in August, with a further update expected to come back to the Somerset Waste Board in September.