Green trash: NZ thinks big with electric rubbish trucks

[kscarbel2]

New Zealand Herald  /  September 8, 2016

Electric rubbish trucks will be rolled out in New Zealand later this year in a trial by Waste Management which also generates power from landfill gas.

The trial involves battery-powered trucks weighing up to 25 tonnes.

The company generates power from three landfills throughout the country and says the switch to electric vehicles represents "the perfect example of the circular economy."

Waste Management runs more than 200 cars and 800 trucks.

It is already charging six cars at its Redvale landfill in Auckland and now has the first of its first of three diesel trial trucks being converted to electric by a specialist in the Netherlands.

The first waste collection truck to be trialled will be a "box body" inorganic collection vehicle which will start on Auckland streets later this year.

A side-loader waste collection truck - used for residential kerbside wheelie bin pick-ups - is expected to go into use in Auckland before Christmas and another planned for Christchurch early next year.

Tom Nickels, Waste Management NZ managing director, said he couldn't discuss costs of the conversion of the trucks for commercial reasons, because the industry was so competitive.

The company will evaluate their performance over the next six to 12 months once they are on the road.

"The development of battery technology is enabling this transition - over the next five to 10 years we will see most vehicles across the world migrate to plug-in electric power.''

The Redvale landfill electricity station can generate 12MW and power more than 12,000 houses.

Video - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11705404

 

 

 

[kscarbel2]

The New Zealand Waste Management-operated Hino 500s feature a pure-electric drive system designed by Netherlands-based Emoss Mobile Systems B.V. (http://www.emoss.biz/).