Biomethane from rotting fruit is helping one supermarket delivery vehicle cut its carbon emissions by 60 per cent.Sainsbury's has become the first UK supermarket to use a lorry powered by diesel and bio-methane to transport goods from a distribution centre to a branch.The Mercedes-Benz Axor truck converted for dual-fuel operation with a Clean Air Power Genesis system uses biomethane that has been collected from landfill before being cleaned and compressed by Gasrec.As a result its daily 310 mile journey from the Bristol distribution centre to its Dartmouth branch contributes less carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than the standard vehicle.Alison Austin, environmental affairs manager at Sainsbury's, said: "This is a real first for how food is delivered in the UK, although the technology used is already used in Lille, France where city buses and refuse lorries run on biomethane."The supermarket also has a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating, features a biomass boiler, draught reduction, rainwater harvesting and vertical axis wind turbines.Veolia Environmental Services recently announced that it is using a bio-methane powered vehicle to collect rubbish.
