The change, which is expected to cost up to £250,000 a year, is subject to the approval of the council’s 2024-25 budget.

The diesel used in the authority’s refuse collection vehicles is currently the most significant contributor to its carbon footprint, accounting for 35%.

Council leader Susan Juned said: ‘There's no easy solution, but HVO can be a straightforward replacement for conventional fossil fuel diesel with no impact on operational requirements.

‘It doesn't need specialist storage equipment and the vehicles won't need any changes; critically the HVO we'd be using will be produced from appropriately certified sustainable sources.’

Cllr Juned said the use of HVO would be a temporary solution, with the council looking to have its fleets running on biomethane or electricity in future.

She added: ‘At the moment, this is out of the question due to the cost and our collection routes being longer than current battery technologies can support.’

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