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New Zealand’s capital, Wellington has introduced a fully electric front-end loader at the city’s Southern Landfill. The new loader will cut emissions from the operational side of the landfill by 10%-15%.
According to Chris Mathews, the Wellington City Council Manager of Waste, Water, and Resilience, this marks another step towards achieving the Council’s objectives under its Te Atakura – First to Zero strategy.
Between 2021 and 2022, emissions at the Southern Landfill experienced a significant decrease of 62%. This reduction was mainly attributed to the landfill biogas management agreement with a private company, which was initiated in 2022. “This new electric loader is another example of initiatives we are taking to reduce emissions across the board,” he said.
The front-end loader was acquired through co-funding received from the government’s Low Emission Transport Fund, which is administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and a private entity responsible for managing the landfill operations under contract for the Council.
Replacing a diesel loader with an electric one is one of the more impactful measures authorities can take to minimise carbon footprint at a landfill site, an official stated. The team at the landfill is eager to increase the usage of electric vehicles at the landfill, but the addition of more units will depend on the success of this one as not all electric machines are suitable for heavy-duty tasks in this particular environment.
Furthermore, a charging station has been set up at the landfill to recharge the loader, and the charging process typically requires up to four hours. The charging station can simultaneously charge two vehicles, which can be beneficial if another electric loader or a similar vehicle is introduced.
Under the Te Atakura – First to Zero plan, Wellington aims to transform into a zero-carbon capital by 2050. It outlines projects to decrease emissions across four specific focus areas: Transportation, Building Energy and Urban Design, Advocacy, and Council initiatives.
According to a 2022 update of the plan, road transportation is responsible for approximately 35% of the city’s emissions. The central government has implemented policies such as electric vehicle subsidies and scrap-and-replace for high-emission vehicles. These measures encourage the adoption of low-emission vehicles and align with other significant recommendations for transportation outlined in the National Emission Reduction Plan.
Building energy is a central area of emphasis within the initiative as stationary energy accounts for around 35% of Wellington city’s total carbon emissions through the consumption of electricity and natural gas.
Although the Wellington City Council administers the Building Act, it lacks local authority to enforce a higher standard that would lower energy consumption across the city’s building stock. However, it continues to push for stronger policy settings.
It has established a fund to enable both new and existing buildings to attain ‘green building’ certifications. The Council will also investigate options to assist smaller-scale environmental enhancements in the existing building sector. This effort will primarily target energy efficiency improvements and reduce natural gas usage in small to medium-sized buildings that do not qualify for extensive funding from EECA.
To drive climate action within the community, the blueprint offers several facilitative measures. For instance, a City Activation team has been created in the Climate Change Response business unit. The aim is to collaborate with stakeholders to spur transformation, which will result in substantial reductions in emissions over the next eight years.
Within the Council itself, a business process and software transformation project has been launched to increase the visibility of emissions throughout its entire value chain. It is also transitioning to monthly data collection for a broader range of emissions sources, offering better insights into opportunities for carbon reduction.
