UK’s First Hydrogen-fuelled Waste Collection Vehicle Introduced in Aberdeen

That the Parliament welcomes the recent announcement that Aberdeen City Council has added the UK’s first hydrogen-fuelled waste collection vehicle to its existing fleet; notes that the new vehicle joins an existing fleet of 85 hydrogen-powered vehicles in the Granite City, which includes buses and other public sector vehicles; understands that the vehicle will start operating in Aberdeen in March 2022, starting in areas such as Garthdee, Mastrick and Bridge of Don, before being moved to mixed recycling and bulk bins on other routes across the city; notes that Aberdeen City Council has been selected to trial the vehicle as part of the Hydrogen Waste Collection Vehicles in North West Europe (HECTOR) project, which, it understands, is expected to run until June 2023; understands that the new waste truck is one of seven that is being added to fleets across Europe and that it will be tested in different environments to help demonstrate that hydrogen waste trucks can effectively reduce emissions; notes that it is hoped that the data collected will allow for further rollouts of the hydrogen-fuelled vehicles in the future, and further notes the projected benefits that it believes the vehicle will have, not only for the environment, but also for the residents of Aberdeen.