At ParcelHero we’ve recently been discussing the concept of urban mining and city freight hubs. You can read all about the schemes at http://www.parcelhero.com/blog/general/why-cant-my-deliveries-arrive-all-together-at-the-time-of-my-choice
Urban mining means digging out all the minerals and resources in a city that would just have gone to waste for recycling. And the concept is a great fit with final mile deliveries working with city freight hubs.
It works like this: individual’s and businesses’ deliveries are made not to their own homes or shops, but to a central freight hub. From there green electric vans or even delivery cycles perform the final mile or two, delivering the packages at a time requested by the customer.
And it gets better. The return journey, rather than running empty back to the depot (and that breaks the 11th Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Run Empty) takes away any conked-out computers and moribund mobiles. These items are valueless for the customer, but actually contain valuable components for recycling. These are delivered into the freight hub for onward reclamation and disposal by a partner waste management company. Simple!
Even though it has been shown that it is greener to use home deliveries than climb into your car to visit the Mall, it’s still a good idea to reduce traffic. The less delivery trucks on the roads of Sydney, or London, or Christchurch, the smaller carbon footprint our deliveries leave. By consolidating deliveries into one trip it saves the customer time and couriers fuel and driver commitments.
But it’s not an easy win. It means logistics companies must roll up their sleeves and mix in with local authorities, businesses and residents. It’s a completely different way of thinking about how we perform the Final Mile, and how we recycle our waste. But the opportunities are there!
The scheme is already being piloted in Holland. Do follow the link above and find out more. Urban mining makes environmental and commercial sense. The urban mine might just be a gold mine!