Innovation

South West Express has also been examining in detail the utilisation of the now available Hybrid Diesel vehicles for utilisation within our fleet of small distribution vehicles.

The stance of South West Express is to at the first opportunity to trial one of these vehicles in application, and to then (if these trials are successful), initiate a system of rolling these hybrid vehicles into our fleet in line with current small vehicle replacement programs.

Current vehicles available are to a maximum of 8.5 tonne GCM. As such, these Hybrid vehicles are only compatible to replace our current fleet of 3 small distribution vans when needed. As larger capacity vehicles become available, further application and utilisation avenues can be examined and implemented.

South West Express has established recycling procedures within all of our business operations and locations. All plastic wrap and cardboard waste produced within our operations is collected at specific points within each depot and is delivered directly to recycling organisations.

Supporting our clients recycling efforts

We also recognise that the logistical headache that recycling can be for many of our clients, with too many businesses deciding to send recyclables to landfill because it is “too hard“.  This is why we work closely with many of our clients to collect and store their recyclables at our depots, where they can be then transported in bulk to the appropriate recycling depots.

Separating the waste streams

Where services are available for use, South West Express utilises Council based recycling options to actively participate in the recycling of all other recyclable products such as glass and aluminium.

All waste oil products are collected from service contractors on site in Bunbury and are also presented to recycling companies for processing.

All work activities within South West Express are constantly scrutinised to ensure that the use of all consumable products such as shrink wrap is kept to a minimum, to ensure that all waste is minimised or eliminated from our work place.

Operating a cold storage facility takes a lot of power.  With the cost of electricity increasing the installation of a commercial grid connect photovoltaic (PV) system made both economic and environmental sense.   This is why in 2014 South West Express installed a 24KW grid connect photovoltaic (PV) system at our Bunbury depot.

Today, this solar power system generates 34% of the total power consumed at the Bunbury Depot and will generate an average ROI of 27% per year over the 25 year projected life of the system.

Based on current conditions, this will save an estimated 31 tons of carbon emissions/annum.

This exercise once again demonstrates South West Express’s commitment  to reducing it’s environmental foot print.

Conventional trailer refrigeration units are consume more fuel, make more noise and are less reliable than current generation electric refrigeration units.

This is why at South West Express, we only purchase refrigeration units for trailers that are capable of being placed on electric standby.  This approach means that when ever a trailer is parked at a depot for an extended period of time, they are plugged in to either mains or solar power which is more efficient, and produces only a fraction of the emissions that an idling truck would.  In the event of a power outage, the refrigeration unit automatically switch over to the on board diesel motor, which drives the on board generator.

This procedural stance by South West Express has not only reduced the overall running costs of these refrigeration plants while storing refrigerated goods, but has also reduced our carbon foot print.