To maintain clean streets in the UK, local authorities spent £699 million or £30 per household from 2018 to 2019. The UK’s street cleansing service is made up of appointed contractors and employed local council staff. According to research, the UK’s street sweeping services are estimated to employ over 20,000 people.
According to the independent charity, Keep Britain Tidy, there are more than 30 million tonnes of litter dropped every year across the UK. Costing taxpayers over £1 billion a year on picking up litter. In January 2023, 1108, volunteers collected 4046 bags of litter which equates to 2,228 hours. Lastly, the RSPCA has reported that 1.3 million disposable vapes are thrown away weekly in the UK, which equates to 2 every second.
In 2019/20, the UK Government announced that councils across England will receive an immediate cash boost from £9.75 million. In order to support local authorities to keep streets clean as part of the ‘Cleaner Streets’ initiative. Furthermore, in August 2022, the UK Government have taken another step towards cleaning our streets. Offering 40 councils across the UK grants of up to £70,000 to remove chewing gum stains. Estimating that the clean-up of chewing gum for councils is around £7 million.
A way in which many UK cities have improved their street cleaning services is by introducing modern technologies like GPS rubbishing and vacuum street sweepers.
Street Cleaning Vacuum Machines
Waste vacuum cleaners are based on a similar principle as vacuum cleaners for homes. Glutton street vacuum cleaners collect and remove everything in their path. By sucking up dirt, dust, and debris from the street, and then depositing the material into a storage tank. Materials can include paper, cardboard, cigarette packets and ends, cans and bottles, dog waste, dead leaves, rubbish trapped in grilles plus much more.
Street vacuum machines are able to efficiently clean large cities, towns, or highways. With the ability to cope on grounds of all types, including cobblestones, concrete, kerbs, slopes, tiles, and grass.
Benefits Of Street Cleaning
Reduces Air Pollution
When assessing air pollution, dust is one of the biggest factors to consider. Dust particles in the air can cause various respiratory and cardiovascular health problems. According to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) “The annual mortality of human-made air pollution in the UK is roughly equivalent to between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths every year. Air pollution can cause and worsen health effects in all individuals, particularly society’s most vulnerable populations. Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer, leading to reduced life expectancy. Short-term increases in levels of air pollution can also cause a range of health impacts, including effects on lung function, exacerbation of asthma, increases in respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions and mortality”.
Vacuuming the streets of an urban area helps to reduce air pollution and improve public health. Studies have found that mechanical sweeping combined with water flushing reduces dust on roads by 90%. Glutton street vacuum cleaners can also remove small pieces of trash, cigarette butts, and other debris that might otherwise find their way into the air. This not only helps to reduce air pollution, but also offers a cleaner environment for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike.
Conserves Water
Research shows that a dripping tap can lose up to 90 litres of water every day and a running tap can use up to nine litres a minute. Furthermore, an average bath uses 80 litres of water whilst a third of the water used in the home goes down the toilet. According to the Wildlife Trusts federation the average person uses around 140 litres of water a day. However, there are huge water deficits that are on track to occur by 2080. Therefore, we need to start cutting down on our use.
Street vacuuming is one method that can be used to reduce this use. By providing a cleaner and greener environment for towns and cities across the UK. Street cleaning helps by removing debris, therefore, conserving water and energy. This is due to the streets not needing to be watered down or sprayed with chemical cleansers.
Cost Effective
Vacuum road sweepers are also economically beneficial, as it is more cost-effective to use than traditional street cleaning methods. Cost efficiency is critical for any fleet of vehicles, from utility vehicles to last-mile delivery vehicles and electric street sweepers. Cost efficiency typically falls into two areas: fuel costs and maintenance costs.
- Fuel costs – The fuel costs per mile is less with an electric vehicle compared to diesel. Modern electric vehicles have high-density batteries that can store a vast amount of power and smart technologies that increase efficiency. Regenerative braking is one example, and this works as an alternator to capture braking energy and recharge the battery.
- Maintenance costs – Maintenance costs are lower than those associated with diesel engines because there are fewer moving parts, filters, hoses, and fluids.
ePowerTrucks
Overall, vacuum road sweeper technology is an excellent solution to help keep the streets of cities clean and green. It helps to preserve resources, reduce air pollution, and improve public health.
Waste management across businesses varies, depending on industries and type of waste. ePower offers a wide range of electric pedestrian Glutton Vacuum cleaners. Ideal for the collection of general rubbish from the streets or pavements in and around city centres. They are fully electric and have an in-built filter system for ease of use.
For street cleaning, Glutton 2411 and Glutton H2O are the ideal electric cleaning solution for urban spaces. Able to clean and remove paper, cardboard, cigarette packets and ends, cans and bottles made of glass, plastic or metal, dog waste, dead leaves and more. With Zero CO2 emissions thanks to the 100% electric technology.
Contact ePower Trucks today for all your electric street cleaning needs and let’s look after our planet together.