An initial roll out of parcel locker services in council car parks across the borough has been completed, Wokingham Borough Council has announced. 

The installation of InPost and Amazon parcel lockers is aimed at reducing the amount of carbon emissions from ‘last mile’ deliveries. 

The executive member for active travel, transport and highways, Cllr Paul Fishwick, said the council wants to “empower” more people to make “environmentally sound” choices.  

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Studies carried out by Last Mile Experts show that buyers visiting lockers to pick up their packages generates far less carbon dioxide than last mile deliveries – the final journey from a distribution centre to the customer’s doorstep. 

The results showed that an InPost parcel locker can generate 66 per cent less carbon dioxide than delivering a parcel directly in urban areas, and 90 per cent less in rural areas. 

Each reduces CO2 by 14 tonnes annually – equivalent to driving 35,000 fewer miles in an average petrol car. 

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Amazon is the largest private parcel courier in the UK, it delivered 15 per cent of last year’s estimated 5.4b packages – the equivalent of around 2 million items every day.

Locations include council owned car parks in Rose Street in Wokingham and Station Road in Earley, as well as supermarkets and other businesses in towns and villages across the borough. There are plans for six more installations in August. 

Cllr Fishwick said the locations of the lockers have been “strategically chosen” within walking and cycle distance so shoppers don’t need to use a car to collect their packages.