MAIN FEATURE
Can the Drainage Industry ever be green?
Written by Bridget Summers -
bridget@footprintpr.org.uk
Discussions around us needing to be ‘greener’ are everywhere and we are all expected to do our part – buy that electric or hybrid vehicle, install a heat pump, try to be economical in what we use and how we dispose of things, and so on. In the light of soaring global temperatures and increasing extremes of weather in so many places, what is the UK drainage industry doing to become greener?
By its very nature, this is a high-power requirement industry. For example, emergency call-outs to blocked drains may require high-pressure jetting to clear the blockage, thus needing either a
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diesel engine/generator or similar, operating a unit running at high pressure, not necessarily for a long period, but in short bursts at least. Equipment for digging, repairing or creating drains is also fairly high powered. Currently, most of that energy probably comes from diesel, but there are changes afoot, as we know. The good old internal combustion engine in diesel and petrol form is fast becoming a pariah. Even Government legislation goes directly against it, with all new cars expected to be electric or hybrid by 2030, when the sale of any new diesel or petrol car or van is banned in the UK.
| October 2023 |
www.draintraderltd.com
And the poor hybrid is even banned from sale as a new vehicle from 2035 so its days are numbered too. The spreading of ULEZ zones doesn’t help the tradesperson called out to an emergency job either, and has caused great controversy recently in places like London.
With an infrastructure that seems to be lagging behind the rapid growth in electric vehicles, this could go anywhere over the next few years. But it’s certainly happening and before too long we’ll be almost totally reliant on electricity. There’s nothing like putting all your eggs in one basket. Whilst National Grid has
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