AS part of an active campaign to reduce its impact on the environment, the grounds department at Chester University has made the switch to Aspen Fuel for its remaining petrol-powered equipment.

Sustainability is a big focus across the university campus, with grounds and gardens coordinator Dan Cristofoli and his team of six overseeing a number of wildlife and biodiversity projects, along with maintaining everything around the site that is green and growing. 

He said: “We have been progressively switching some of our fleet over to battery-powered equipment to reduce our carbon footprint. 

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“However, there’s some items which are difficult to substitute and that’s where the Aspen product comes in – helping us to reduce pollutants, both for the operator and to the environment.” 

Dan first heard about Aspen when he undertook a chainsaw training course in a previous role, with Phil Dunford of chainsawtraining.com. As an alkylate petrol, Aspen is virtually free from benzene, as well as sulphur and many other harmful hydrocarbons meaning it burns 99 per cent cleaner than ordinary petrol. Also being free from ethanol, Aspen maintains engine performance and preserves the life of component parts which can be susceptible to failure. 

Dan added: “We made the switch at the start of the growing season and straight away discovered the convenience and time-savings associated with having the Aspen fuel delivered by the pallet directly to our site. 

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“From a risk assessment perspective, reducing the need to make regular trips to the petrol station is a great plus point. 

“On the ground, the operators have all commented on the reduction in odours when operating the equipment and with the chainsaws, they’ve noticed how much smoother they’re running.”