Environment Agency team cuts carbon emissions

A local Environment Agency team in Barking and Dagenham has cut their carbon emissions by swapping their machinery for battery-powered replacements.

The team uses machinery to clear local ditches and rivers to prevent flooding. Previously, they had used fossil-fuel-powered, hand-held equipment for this task. However, since 2020, the team have been replacing this with more modern, cleaner, greener battery powered technology, saving money and carbon emissions, and at the same time, improving their health and wellbeing.

Over the typical day, the team, lead by Leon Palmer, strim flood embankments to ensure they remain stable in floods, clear trees and other obstructions from river channels and culverts, and inspect and repair the more than 20 flood defences in the area, including pumping stations, flood storage areas and sluices.  

Due to budget constraints, the tools are only replaced at the end of their workable life, with two streamers, one hedge cutter and a chainsaw already replaced.

The new tools cost less, reduce Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), are quieter to operate, and have comparable performance to the old fossil fuel alternatives. It is also cheaper to buy and service, with lower running costs.

Leon Palmer said: "My team are so much happier with this equipment. It’s light, easy to use and just doesn’t vibrate like the more traditional petrol equipment did. We still have to use our petrol chainsaw for the heaviest duty jobs like tree felling but by switching out the rest we estimate we’re saving half a tonne of CO2 emissions every year. That’s equivalent to charging your smartphone 60,000 times or driving 1,250 miles in an average petrol car.  

"I’ve always been passionate about the environment, ever since I watched my first David Attenborough as a kid. Working for an organisation like the EA is brilliant because they have supported me in making this change. If every small team like mine, whether in the EA, local authorities or any organisation working in public green spaces, made this change it would make a real difference to reducing our country’s carbon emissions and reaching net zero."