Climate Change Newsletter Edition 2

Introduction of Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Infrastructure

What are Electric/Hybrid cars?

Electric cars have batteries inside them which store a large amount of energy, allowing the car to be charged and used for a prolonged period of time before needing the next charge. These cars do not produce carbon dioxide emissions while driving, which means air pollution is reduced significantly. Hybrid cars have a petrol powered engine with an added electric motor. This allows you to do regular journeys using electric with a petrol fuelled back up for longer journeys.

Why are we implementing EV charging points?

As part of our ‘net zero carbon by 2030’ ambition, we have committed to facilitate the decarbonisation of transport across the county. A key part of this is supporting the transition of vehicles to low carbon alternatives such as electric. There is a target for the discontinue of sales of diesel and petrol cars by 2030, and therefore we are investing in improvements to the county’s electric charging infrastructure so that residents have reliable access to charge their car if they don’t have a charging facility at home. SWARCO will be acting as the charge point operator and will handle all aspects of the public charging and maintenance of the charge points.

How many EV charging points are there and where are they?

In total 15 charging points have been installed across Flintshire in Phase one. Depending on the success of phase one a second phase could be implemented with an expansion of the charging networks.

• 5 in Flint – 2 Allt Goch, 1 Richard Heights and 2 Castle Street.
• 2 in Queensferry – 2 Pierce Street.
• 4 in Mold – 2 New Street and 2 Griffiths Square.
• 2 in Buckley – 2 Precinct Way.
• 2 in Holywell – 2 Plas Yn Dre.

Did you know?

It is dangerous and harmful to the environment when batteries are disposed of in general waste bins. The best way to dispose of batteries is to put them in a clear bag and put them out with your recycling waste on your collection day. Or you can take them to your local shop where they will also take them for free. Our website informs you on what you can and cannot recycle, if you are unsure of what can be recycled.

Where does your general waste go?

It is a common myth that waste collected from the kerbside is either sent to landfill or shipped abroad.

Parc Adfer, in Deeside, is an energy from waste facility and is in a partnership with Flintshire County Council, Conwy County Borough Council, Denbighshire County Council, Gwynedd Council and the Isle of Anglesey County Council. The kerbside general waste from these 5 local authorities is collected, burnt and used to create energy and recyclable materials.

The plant processes around 2,000 tons of waste per week from the 5 counties with a proportion of commercial waste. The energy produced from the waste powers Parc Adfer and the rest goes straight into the grid to supply up to 45,000 homes.

The heat from the burning process is used to turn water into steam which powers 4 wind turbines producing additional electricity for the national grid. The waste products from the combustion process are repurposed with ash being used as construction aggregate and metals recovered and recycled. The burning process can be harmful to the environment, however the gases released are filtered and cleaned before being released into the atmosphere.

In the coming weeks!

It is The Big Garden Birdwatch from the 27^th to the 29^th January. Watch and record the different bird species around you for one hour either from your garden, balcony or local park. You can then go onto the RSPB website to tell them what you saw. This information is used to help monitor bird species across the UK and identify any declines in species. Information packs are available on RSPB website.

Flintshire will be holding a free session on creating birdfeeders which will take place on Saturday 21^st January, 10:00 – 12:30pm at Wepre Park Visitors Centre. Join the team and learn more about The Big Garden Birdwatch, the birds we see in the winter and their needs. You can Book via Eventbrite or pop into Wepre Park visitors centre. Why not come along and get stuck in.

Wales Climate Week

During Wales Climate Week in November, the climate change team were in the local community delivering a number of drop in sessions to help residents to calculate their carbon footprint and learn about areas where they can start to reduce their carbon impact. Alongside this the energy team delivered energy advice for residents. We also launched our Climate Change webpages where you can learn what climate action the Council has committed to and how you can get involved. Click here for more info.