Renfrewshire Council has moved to snap up another three bin lorries that can be powered by a form of vegetable oil as it adds to its fleet.

A contract for the supply and delivery of the refuse collection vehicles – worth in excess of £660,000 – was approved by the finance, resources and customer services policy board on Thursday.

The trucks will be provided by specialist company Farid Hillend Engineering following a procurement exercise and will be delivered to Paisley’s Underwood Road.

Councillor Chris Gilmour, Labour group environment spokesperson and representative for Johnstone North and the surrounding villages, welcomed the move.

He asked if the Euro 6 diesel bin lorries would also be able to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which is considered a renewable fuel.

Councillor John Shaw, board convener and SNP representative for Renfrew North and Braehead, brought in one of the council’s transport officers who confirmed they would be compatible with HVO.

A report considered by the board said the continued replacement of existing vehicles with new models of Euro 6 emission standards helps the council reduce the fleet’s carbon footprint by removing those that are older and less environmentally friendly.

The decision was applauded by Councillor Audrey Doig, an SNP representative for Houston, Crosslee and Linwood, who described it as a “step forward”.

She said: “I’m so happy to see us getting greener.

“I don’t know what the percentage is yet of how many vehicles we have when comparing those that are totally green and those that are still on the older fuels but it’s a step forward.

“It might not be electric but it’s better than what we’ve had before.”

The total approved contract value of £669,702, excluding VAT, will be met from the council’s environment, housing and infrastructure capital budget allocation for the vehicle replacement programme in 2024/25.