Cardiff is set to benefit from a new fleet of waste management and street cleaning vehicles which will boost recycling rates and help reduce emissions improving air quality in the city.

Twenty seven new waste collection vehicles; 7 food waste collection vehicles; 4 hook lift vehicles; 1 skip loader and 12 street-cleaning vehicles will form the new fleet and a new electric, street-cleansing vehicle will also be trialled in the city centre.

The new fleet of waste collection vehicles will use the latest Euro 6 engine which reduces Nitrogen Oxide emissions by 77% and also cuts soot particulate emissions by a further 66% when compared to the Euro 5 engine.

Councillor Michael Michael, Cabinet Member for Clean Street, Recycling and the Environment said: "Reducing traffic emissions from our fleet is a priority. We have previously set out that we want to convert our small fleet of vehicles, away from diesel and petrol to an alternative fuel by 2022 and we want our heavy-goods vehicles converted by 2030.

"As part of this procurement we wanted to be sure we weren't tied to these vehicles for a set period of time so we can try new vehicles with new technology which might deliver even cleaner vehicles as and when they come on stream. It's important that we are able to adapt quickly as technology improves."

The12 new street-cleansing vehicles will appear on the city's streets first, followed by the delivery of the new waste collection vehicles and the larger waste collection vehicles.

Cllr Michael added: "The new vehicles should improve the reliability of waste collections across the city, cutting down on breakdowns which older vehicles experience due to the intense workload they face every day. Vehicle breakdowns will reduce significantly which will improve service efficiency and help us hit recycling targets."