Eco-friendly vans for Liverpool pest control

A Liverpool City Council team has swapped its diesel-driven fleet of vans for cleaner electric vehicles.

The council’s pest control crew work five-days-a-week visiting homes, businesses and public buildings across the city to rid them of their rodent problems or insect infestations. In their four-strong fleet of vans, the team clocks up about 800 miles each week.

Thanks to a partnership with Renault UK, the council has swapped its old vans for clean new electric vans. The new Kangoo vans have been custom-built so the council workers can get all their necessary work gear in the back. They even contain a specially-concealed sink and hygiene unit to allow team members to clean up between jobs.

The city council has a fleet of 200 cars, vans and mini-buses and has operated low-carbon fuel-efficient vehicles for more than 10 years. Since the Mayor of Liverpool’s commitment to improve air quality in 2017, the council has increased the number of hybrid and electric vehicles on the fleet. In 2017, 70 per cent of the fleet was diesel – today this has fallen to just 39 per cent. The authority will continue to boost this number over the next five years.

Laura Robertson-Collins, Liverpool City Council’s Climate Champion and newly-appointed Cabinet Member for the Environment and Sustainability, said: “It is clear that poor air quality has many adverse effects both on the environment and potentially on people’s health. So it is important that Liverpool leads the way in developing a long-term air quality strategy.

“Electric vehicles are also really cost-effective and there are considerable savings to be made, particularly on vehicles that do lots of miles each year. In the long-run it is our ambition to improve air quality and to save council tax payers’ money. The way these vans have been adapted to meet the specific needs of the pest control team is a real innovation and we look forward to introducing more electric vehicles to our fleet in the future.”