Heading towards Net-Zero: How Lancashire Can Save £3.2 Million and 500 Tonnes of Carbon on Street Lighting
Managing public infrastructure across a region as large and diverse as Lancashire is a massive balancing act. Local authorities are constantly tasked with a difficult challenge: how do you maintain high safety standards for critical assets while simultaneously driving down costs and hitting ambitious net-zero carbon targets?
The answer might just be right at the base of our streetlights.
Lancashire County Council manages an impressive network of 151,000 streetlights. To protect these vital assets from the elements and prevent structural failure, approximately 15% of them—around 22,650 columns—must undergo critical corrosion treatment every single year.
Historically, this has been an expensive, carbon-heavy battle. But by shifting from traditional maintenance methods to an innovative solution called PeeTGuard, Lancashire has the opportunity to unlock staggering environmental and financial dividends.
The Multi-Million Pound Status Quo
Currently, traditional corrosion prevention methods cost Lancashire an estimated £3,963,750 per annum.
This traditional approach relies heavily on bitumen—a heavy petroleum fraction derived from crude oil. To apply it effectively on-site, the material must be heated to temperatures between 150°C and 180°C. This energy-intensive process doesn't just drive up the financial cost; it also comes with a heavy environmental price tag:
Carbon Heavy: Current maintenance operations generate 679.5 tonnes of CO2 every year.
Air Pollution: Heating bitumen releases local air pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter.
Waterway Risks: Over time, weather causes bitumen to degrade and crack, potentially allowing harmful polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to leach into surrounding soil and local waterways.
Sustainable Infrastructure Cost Comparison - Lancashire County Council
The PeeTGuard Transformation: Doing More with Less
The PeeTGuard system offers a radical departure from fossil-fuel-reliant asset management. Instead of applying hot bitumen, maintenance teams fit columns with specialized protective collars.
When applied to Lancashire’s annual maintenance cycle of 22,650 posts, the financial and carbon transformations are dramatic:
Annual Cost: Drops from £3,963,750 to just £679,500.
Annual Carbon: Drops from 679.5 tonnes to just 181.2 tonnes.
By making this single programmatic shift, Lancashire County Council stands to achieve an annual saving of £3,284,250 and prevent 498.3 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every single year.
Championing the Circular Economy
PeeTGuard’s benefits extend far beyond a healthier balance sheet. The technology is a textbook example of the circular economy in action.
The collars are manufactured using unrecyclable plastic waste that would otherwise be destined for landfills or incineration. This process results in a 50% to 80% lower carbon footprint compared to manufacturing products from virgin plastic.
Furthermore, unlike bitumen, PeeTGuard materials are completely stable. They do not shrink, expand, crack, or deteriorate under harsh UV rays or severe winter weather. They completely seal out water-borne contaminants, meaning zero leaching into Lancashire's ecosystems. Best of all, at the end of a lamp post's operational lifecycle, the PeeTGuard collar can be entirely reprocessed and recycled again.
A Clear Path Forward for Lancashire
A saving of over £3.2 million per year represents significant capital that could be immediately redirected into frontline highways maintenance, pothole repairs, or other vital community initiatives. Combined with a reduction of nearly 500 tonnes of carbon, it offers a powerful, practical mechanism to help accelerate Lancashire's journey toward climate neutrality.
By transitioning away from outdated, high-emission practices and embracing smart, recycled infrastructure solutions like PeeTGuard, Lancashire can protect its assets, its taxpayers, and the planet all at once.
