Ice-cream vans have been facing mounting criticism after campaign groups and parents complained they were delivering their vanilla cones and 99s with a topping of diesel fumes. This week, Whitby Morrison, which makes about 80% of all ice-cream vans in the UK, will begin testing a battery-powered ice-cream maker, and if all goes to plan the first all-electric ice-cream vans will be in use by the end of the summer. “Ice-cream vans come up a lot: I’m surprised by how often I hear it,” said Jemima Hartshorn of the campaign group Mums for Lungs. “People are concerned: ‘This ice-cream van is always in front of my children’s school, it’s disgusting, it smells’. I’d like to think the ice-cream vans are the start, and then we can go on to [deal with] traffic islands, which are much worse.”John Bonar, the owner of Piccadilly Whip, which operates at landmarks such as the Tower of London, spent £200,000 on two new ice-cream vans to be ULEZ compliant.

Source: The Guardian June 02, 2019 06:56 UTC